Luis Arturo Marroquín was the political coordinator for eastern Guatemala at Campesino’s Development Committee (Comité de Desarrollo Campesino – CODECA) and was also part of the National Directorate of this organisation. CODECA is a human rights organisation of indigenous campesinas and campesinos dedicated to promoting lands rights and rural development for indigenous families in Guatemala through social participation, effective incidence in public policies and participation in inclusive programs to reduce the vulnerability of indigenous communities in the country.
Since Otto Pérez Molina assumed the role of President in January 2012, cases of harassment and threats against HRDs have been on the rise. Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Guatemala are subjected to death threats, physical attacks, acts of harassment, surveillance, stigmatisation, judicial harassment, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance and killings. Many of the violations are carried out by clandestine security structures and illegal groups. The exceptionally high level of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators increases the risk exponentially for HRDs.
