Location
Q’eqchi’ Territory in Izabal, Alta Verapaz and Petén
Area of work and rights defended
Carlos Ernesto Choc is a Maya Q’eqchi’ journalist, environmentalist and human rights defender (HRD), born in the municipality of El Estor, in the department of Izabal. During his career, he has participated in the Green Blood and Mining Secrets projects, journalistic investigations that revealed the environmental damage caused by the nickel company Solway Investment Group, responsible for operating the largest mine in Central America. His work on these projects was published in several European media outlets, as well as in the Guatemalan media outlet, Prensa Comunitaria. He currently works as a freelance journalist, and his work focuses on accompanying and documenting the voices of the Maya Q’eqchi’ people in the face of human rights violations and environmental impacts caused by extractive industries. He is part of the international network of journalists Forbidden Stories, based in Paris, France.
Description of the problem
Carlos Choc has been criminalized and prosecuted because of his journalistic work, which he has used to report on human rights violations against the Q’eqchi’ people and the environmental pollution caused by the Fenix mine in the El Estor municipality. The criminal prosecution against him began in August 2017, when mine personnel brought allegations in two cases, which finally concluded in January 2024, when all charges against him were dropped. He requested accompaniment from us in order to be able to continue his work as a journalist. We began accompanying him in April 2025.