Context of the struggle
In the Trifinio region, where the borders of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras meet, rural communities are confronting the environmental and social risks posed by the Cerro Blanco gold mine, a project owned by the Canadian company Elevar Resources, a subsidiary of Canada-based Bluestone Resources Inc that was acquired by Aura Minerals Inc in January 2025. The mine is located near Asunción Mita, Guatemala, in a highly sensitive hydrological area that connects shared water sources across the three countries, including the Lempa River basin and the Citalá aquifer, which are vital for millions of people.
Women organized through AMAES (a network of rural women’s groups) and allied community organizations in Metapán and Candelaria de la Frontera (El Salvador), Asunción Mita (Guatemala), and Ocotepeque (Honduras)have been at the forefront of resistance to the project. These women include farmers, fishers, caregivers, community leaders, and small-scale entrepreneurs whose livelihoods depend directly on the land and water.
Although the Guatemalan government under President Bernardo Arévalo recently ordered the suspension of the project and requested a new Environmental Impact Assessment, the mining threat remains. Elevar Resources has appealed the decision and has signaled the possibility of bringing a case against the Guatemalan state before international arbitration mechanisms such as ICSID, raising concerns about corporate pressure and investor–state dispute settlement mechanisms.
Communities warn that the Cerro Blanco project threatens the right to water for more than two million people in El Salvador, as well as the livelihoods and health of more than 35 nearby communities across the border region. Potential impacts include water contamination, loss of agricultural land, biodiversity loss, forced displacement, and increased social harms that disproportionately affect women, including health risks, increased care burdens, and social violence linked to extractive economies.
Community struggle
Women from AMAES and other community organizations have developed a cross-border ecofeminist movement to defend their territories and water sources. Their organizing connects women from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who share the same ecosystems and face common threats from extractive industries in the Trifinio region.
Community efforts have focused on strengthening grassroots organization and awareness, particularly among women. This includes community mobilization, political advocacy, and cross-border coordination to raise awareness about the environmental and social impacts of mining. Women leaders have also organized radio campaigns through community media, producing informational spots that explain the risks of extractive projects and highlight their specific impacts on women’s lives.
These organizing efforts are complemented by training processes for women environmental defenders, including capacity-building on ecofeminism, community leadership, and the role of international financial institutions and corporate actors in extractive projects.
A central demand emerging from this organizing is the call for “Mining-Free Borders” (Fronteras Libres de Minería). Through assemblies, trainings, communication campaigns, and mobilizations, including symbolic actions such as water marches, women leaders are working to position this demand across local governments, environmental networks, and community organizations throughout the tri-national border region.
Through their organizing, AMAES and allied groups are building a transboundary ecofeminist movement that frames environmental defense not only as a struggle for territorial rights and water protection, but also as a struggle for women’s rights, food sovereignty, and community self-determination.
Further resources
Mujeres en resistencia frente a la minería transfronteriza en El Salvador (Women resisting cross-border mining in El Salvador)