Juan de Leon Tuyuc Velasquez (Kaqchikel Maya), a former guerrilla commander during Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war, was killed on January 15, 2014 in Solola by unknown gunmen. Velasquez is the brother of Rosalinda Tuyuc, founder of National Association of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA), a leading human rights organization representing Indigenous women whose husbands died in the civil war.
In June 1982, the Guatemalan Army kidnapped and murdered their father, Francisco Tuyuc. In 1985, Rosalinda Tuyuc's husband suffered the same fate. In 1994, she founded (CONAVIGUA). Rosalinda Tuyuc was elected as a Congressional deputy in 1995, elected from the national list of the New Guatemala Democratic Front, and served as Vice President of Congress during that period. In 1994, she was decorated by the French Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur for her humanitarian activities.
Juan de Leon worked tirelessly for the transformation of social inequality and injustice that greatly affects Mayan communities. His work focused on promoting the active participation of Mayan women and men in addressing the problem of access to land in Guatemala. Some speculate that the increasing political repression in Guatemala is impacting the Tuyuc Velasquez family, who are known for their work in defense of human rights in Guatemala. On January 3, 2013, Vincent Tuyuc Velasquez, leader and educator, brother of Juan and Rosalina, was also brutally murdered and the crime remains unsolved.
"The murder of Maya and Xinka leaders like Juan de León, his brother Vicente, Santos Ajau Suret , Silverio Vincent , Orlando Boror Zet , Germán Antonio Curup , Rigoberto Tezén Chuy, Carlos Antonio Mendoza Hernández , José Tabico , Silverio Vicente, Marcos Ucelo Incarnation, Andrés Francisco Miguel , among others, shows that structural racism and militarism are not problems of the past. It is alarming that the killing of historical and contemporary leaders is increasing, the brutality with which they are killed is a clear message that seeks to silence critics who question and operate against the established order. It is undeniable that these crimes are further weakening democratic institutions in Guatemala. It is through systematic intimidation, harassment, and the cowardly assassination of leaders that injustices and social inequalities in this country will be transformed. In my view, in this context of impunity and insecurity, it is urgent that we join efforts to demand that the government of Guatemala comply with its obligation to protect our lives," wrote FRANCISCA GóMEZ GRIJALVA, reporter in Prensa Libre.
“Again my heart fills with sadness. My brother Juan de Leon Tuyuc Velasquez has died after being vilely murdered in Solola, again the family is in mourning, again my family suffers the snatching away of a loved one,” Rosalinda Tuyuc wrote on Facebook.
