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Canadians, this is a big deal: the former security chief at a Guatemala mine has pleaded guilty to criminal charges re: an alleged homicide and serious assault on Indigenous ppl.
Hudbay Minerals has been fighting a related Cdn civil suit for 10+ yrs. https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/former-security-chief-at-hudbay-mine-pleads-guilty-in-guatemala
Hudbay Minerals has been fighting a related Cdn civil suit for 10+ yrs. https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/former-security-chief-at-hudbay-mine-pleads-guilty-in-guatemala
Denying the man's involvement has been part of Hudbay's defence. The suit maintains that the company is financially liable for the effects of alleged violent expulsions of Indigenous Mayans in eastern Guatemala. 11 Mayan women allege they were gang-raped.
It's complicated for sure. A column of mine from 2019, during the Mexico-US "border crisis" is, well, one of my least-read. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-the-knot-of-reasons-migrants-are-fleeing-central-america-there/ But even if Hudbay isn't found responsible here, Canadian mining's role in Indigenous displacement abroad needs a closer eye.
There are a lot of links in that column. One of the most comprehensive stories is this one. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-canadian-mines-have-wreaked-havoc-in-developing-countries-for-decades/
The Hudbay case is one of 3 considered landmark, attempting to make mining companies liable here, where they are based. B.C.-based Pan American silver settled its own Guatemalan mine case w an apology to people who were shot, and other undisclosed terms. https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/big-win-for-foreign-plaintiffs-as-pan-american-settles-guatemala-mine-case
The push for Cdn trials is in part bc foreign govts are considered more corrupt. In Nov, Nevsun settled a case that had reached the SCC, w Eritrean plaintiffs alleging "slavery, forced labour, torture...during construction of its copper and gold mine." https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/litigation/nevsun-settles-with-eritrean-plaintiffs-in-relation-to-landmark-supreme-court-of-canada-case/334916
Hudbay no longer owns that Guatemala mine. Nevsun doesn't own the one in Eritrea. One of the reasons it's hard to follow these cases is constant selling of mines, dissolving/reforming of companies. The dry tone of news stories disguises the real humans involved, incl the execs.
But these minerals are almost certainly in products in your home. Your RSP or pension could be invested. You might not care, but if you made it this far in the thread, you can't say you didn't know.
Remember this terrific essay? "Resource extraction, led by private companies & enforced by the state, is what motivates Canadian policy & justifies Cdn national identity. Canada is 3 mining companies in a trench coat, wearing a stupid hat & carrying a gun" https://theoutline.com/post/8686/canada-is-fake?zd=3&zi=ok47kxy3
