NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA
Photo courtesy of Haydee Marin, Coordinator of the ISHR Latin American Committee
The Latin American Committee of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) includes sections in Colombia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, with additional sections based in Cuba and in the United States. Our volunteer human rights defenders on the ground monitor and report on current human rights violations occurring in their countries and also carry out a wide range of projects. These include support for indigenous education and peace building in prisons, among others.
To learn more about specific issue areas and our work in the Americas, see the updates below.
UPDATES
Cuba: German sentenced to 25 years in prison
German citizen Luis Frómeta Compte has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in Cuba. The charges were "agitation of public nuisance" and "incitement to riot". His only crime is to record the protests occurred in July 2021 with his smartphone.
Felix Navarro in the face of communist repression
For more than five months now, Felix Navarro, a 58-year-old former teacher, has been imprisoned again in Matanzas, more than 100 kilometers east of Havana.
ISHR Nicaragua: Nicaraguans deserve a better future
The November 7, 2021 presidential elections in Nicaragua have left no one stunned. Daniel Ortega won after hunting down the opposition and imprisoning all other seven presidential candidates, accusing them of mock charges such as "treason" and "terrorism". Ortega starts his fourth term in office virtually abolishing democracy.
Cuba: German to serve 24 years in prison for filming protests with his smartphone
The dual national living in Germany was arrested on July 11, 2021 while on vacation in Cuba because he had filmed a protest with his smartphone. He is currently being held with serious criminals in the "Combinado del Este" prison. The public prosecutor's office accuses him of “inciting a riot” and demands 24 years in prison.
Declaration of ISHR Cuba
Dr. René Gomez Manzano, representative of ISHR Cuba, announces on behalf of ISHR and IGFM the support of the organization on behalf of the peaceful manifestations that have been scheduled to take place on November 15. 2021 in the island.
Cuba: between forced exile and defectors rejection
Laura Barreto-Navarro discusses how Cuban authorities use the nationality of its people as a political token, forcing critics into exile and harassing those who want to leave.