Murder of young assistant to Guatemalan environmental organization evidence of escalating risk to human rights defenders

A joint statement by North American and Guatemalan organizations condemning the murder of Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima, an assistant at the Guatemalan Centre for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), and highlighting the broader risks faced by environmental defenders in Guatemala and Latin America.

• Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima, a 22-year-old assistant to the director of the Guatemalan Centre for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), was murdered in Guatemala City on Saturday, November 12, 2016. He was killed by two bullets to the head in zone 4 of the city while performing errands. The victim managed sensitive information for CALAS and had not received prior warnings; the attack is interpreted as a direct message to the organization's personnel.
• A study by the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) titled 'The ‘Canada Brand’: Violence and Canadian Mining Companies in Latin America' found that Guatemala experienced the highest levels of physical violence related to Canadian-owned mining projects. Between 2000 and 2015, across 13 Latin American countries and 28 Canadian companies, the report documented at least 44 deaths (30 targeted killings), over 400 injuries, and the legal persecution of more than 700 people defending their territories and environment.
• Approximately 1 million people in Guatemala have voted against mining on their lands due to negative impacts from Canadian projects, specifically citing Goldcorp’s Marlin mine and Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine. In response, 180 Latin American organizations, including CALAS, sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau requesting measures to prevent systemic harms and ensure access to Canadian courts.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2016). Murder of young assistant to Guatemalan environmental organization evidence of escalating risk to human rights defenders. https://www.ciel.org/news/murder-young-assistant-guatemalan-environmental-organization-evidence-escalating-risk-human-rights-defenders/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Murder of young assistant to Guatemalan environmental organization evidence of escalating risk to human rights defenders. 2016. https://www.ciel.org/news/murder-young-assistant-guatemalan-environmental-organization-evidence-escalating-risk-human-rights-defenders/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Murder of young assistant to Guatemalan environmental organization evidence of escalating risk to human rights defenders |date=16 November 2016 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/murder-young-assistant-guatemalan-environmental-organization-evidence-escalating-risk-human-rights-defenders/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2016murder, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Murder of young assistant to Guatemalan environmental organization evidence of escalating risk to human rights defenders}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/murder-young-assistant-guatemalan-environmental-organization-evidence-escalating-risk-human-rights-defenders/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }