Bernardo Caal Xol

Caal was a school teacher, but became one of the leaders of the movement to defend water resources of his community; he denounced alleged irregularities in the operation of mining companies in his native Alta Verapaz.^[2][3]

In 2017, Caal was imprisoned for an alleged crime of theft of construction equipment and the illegal retention of four workers from a construction company. He was sentenced in 2018 to 7 years in prison. In 2020, Amnesty International declared him a "prisoner of conscience", considering that the charges against him were retaliation for his activism.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

In March 2022, Caal was released on good behavior.^[5]

• Human rights in Guatemala