The Board of Directors of the Council of Communal Mayors of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán requested the new Constitutional Court (CC) to hear and resolve an unconstitutionality action against the crime of terrorism, presented in September 2025 and which still remains unresolved.
According to a statement, the action was known in public on November 27, 2025; However, the process was postponed and has not been resolved to date.
Given this situation, on April 14, the communal authorities presented a request for the new integration of the CC to take up the case and issue a ruling in accordance with the law, within the framework of due process and access to justice.
In the statement, the indigenous representatives point out that the classification of the crime of terrorism violates the principle of legality, because—according to their criteria—it allows broad interpretations that could lead to arbitrariness.
They also affirm that this penal figure has been used against indigenous authorities, which they consider a way of criminalizing social protest and the defense of human rights.
The statement quotes the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism, Ben Saul, who presented a amicus curiae in the process. According to the document, the expert recognizes the challenges in the fight against terrorism, but emphasizes that criminal laws must respect the principle of legality in accordance with international human rights law.
The communal authorities indicated that this principle is key to avoiding violations of fundamental rights, especially when criminal regulations are applied broadly.
Finally, they urged the CC to resolve the action within the legal period and to avoid the use that they described as arbitrary of the crime of terrorism, in order to prevent it from being used in the future against people who exercise their right to defend their rights.