Clashes in Guatemala Mining Protest Leaves 1 Dead, 6 Injured

A demonstrator carries a sign protesting metals mining in Guatemala in defense of water and life in Guatemala City in 2006.

Published 28 May 2017

Opponents of the mine argue that contamination has already impacted the local artisanal fishing industry local families depend on.

A protest in an Indigenous community on the edge of Guatemala’s Izabal Lake against an international mining giant ended in clashes Saturday, with at least one resident dead and six police officers injured, local authorities reported.

Demonstrators concerned about contamination of the country’s largest lake, Lake Izabel, and the Dulce River took to the streets Saturday in El Estor, located nearly 100 miles northeast of the capital city, after talks over the operation of a nearby nickel mine broke down.

Artisanal fishers and other concerned residents set up a blockade on a main street, only to soon be met by a counter protest, sparking clashes between opposing sides. According to local media, tensions broke into gunfire, killing one civilian and injuring six police officers.

. . .

El Estor, home to a population of mostly Mayan Q’eqchi’ people, has a long history of nickel mining and resistance against the unwanted corporate projects, notorious for causing a slew of environmental disasters and human rights abuses.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Clashes-in-Guatemala-Mining-Protest-Leaves-1-Dead-6-Injured-20170528-0011.html








Lake Izabal