Commemoration of the Guadalupe Massacre. On February 28 and March 1 of 1983, in an area known as Guadalupe, troops of the Atlacatl Battalion of El Salvador's armed forces intercepted and massacred hundreds of peasants as they fled the aerial bombardment of the slopes of the volcano Guazapa. Cuscatlán, El Salvador, 2009

View from an elementary school classroom. In 2015, El Salvador outpaced neighboring Honduras as the nation with the highest homicide rate in the world. San Pedro Perulapán, Cuscatlán, El Salvador, 2009

Mejicanos, San Salvador, El Salvador, 2007

The site of the Escobal silver mine in San Rafael las Flores, Santa Rosa, Guatemala. In referenda held in surrounding municipalities and in community-level plebiscites within San Rafael, an increasing number of residents have expressed their disagreement with the mining project, operated by the Canadian firm Tahoe Resources. In May 2013, in a climate of growing tensions and conflictivity, a state of siege was declared in four municipalities near the mine, including San Rafael Las Flores. 2012

Clodoveo Rodríguez stands on his property while workers construct a processing plant a few meters from his house in San Rafael las Flores, Santa Rosa. Having refused to sell his land to the mining company, his plot was left surrounded by the mining operation. 2012

San Salvador, El Salvador, 2007

President Barack Obama speaks to thousands in Denver, Colorado, during one of the final stops in his campaign for re-election. October 24, 2012

On February 17, 2013, residents of Denver, Colorado, took to the streets to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Organized by groups including 350.org, #OccupyDenver, the Sierra Club, Environment Colorado, and student organizations, the demonstration was one of several held simultaneously across the U.S. in solidarity with a massive climate change rally in Washington, D.C. According to 350.org, the D.C. rally drew more than 40,000 participants. Pending government approval, the Keystone XL pipeline would carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, through various western U.S. states to refineries in Texas and other U.S. locations. Among the areas to be directly affected are First Nations and tribal lands.

On February 17, 2013, residents of Denver, Colorado, took to the streets to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Organized by groups including 350.org, #OccupyDenver, the Sierra Club, Environment Colorado, and student organizations, the demonstration was one of several held simultaneously across the U.S. in solidarity with a massive climate change rally in Washington, D.C. According to 350.org, the D.C. rally drew more than 40,000 participants. Pending government approval, the Keystone XL pipeline would carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, through various western U.S. states to refineries in Texas and other U.S. locations. Among the areas to be directly affected are First Nations and tribal lands.

Denver residents protest Saint Louis County grand jury decision

Denver residents gathered in a candlelight vigil to protest a Saint Louis County grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. November 25, 2014

On April 4, 2013, immigrant rights activists marched through the streets of Denver following a hearing in the case of Imelda Valenzuela González. According to immigrant rights groups, the beautician and mother of three, with more than 14 years of residence in the United States, faces possible deportation after a presumed notary, currently fugitive from justice, promised her assistance in obtaining a work permit and then defrauded her. González was cited for another hearing in December, leaving her status unresolved.

K'iche' girls line up to vote in a referendum in San Juan Ostuncalco, Quetzaltenango on February 18, 2011. 33,428 men, women and children voted in rejection of mining in the area while 79 individual voted in favor.

Volunteers count the ballots following the close of voting in a local referendum regarding mining licenses in the municipality of Huitán, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. 6,758 voted in rejection of mining while 30 voted in favor. November 22, 2010

A community leader shows the Libro de Actas, or official registry, recording the votes cast in his community. On November 29, 2010, representatives of Cabricán (Quetzaltenango), Santa Cruz del Quiché and Uspantán (El Quiché) traveled to the capital to present to the national authorities the results of community referenda held in the three municipalities regarding mining and hydroelectric projects.

On November 29, 2010, representatives of Cabricán (Quetzaltenango), Santa Cruz del Quiché and Uspantán (El Quiché) traveled to the capital to present to the national authorities the results of community referenda held in the three municipalities. Upon exiting the building housing the Guatemalan Congress, community leaders from the three municipalities denounced that officials cited to receive the results of referenda held in their municipalities did not show up.

Maya K'iche' and Maya Uspanteko citizens vote in an October 2010 referendum in Uspantán, El Quiché. More than 25,000 residents voted to reject mining and hydroelectric megaprojects in the municipality.

Soldiers and riot police occupy the town center on the day of the referendum in Uspantán, El Quiché. Following negotiations with community leaders, the security forces were removed to a location away from the voting.

El Salvador, 2007

Faithful in San Salvador commemorate the 27th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez. The banner reads "The structures of social injustice are those which have given slow death to our poor." San Salvador, El Salvador, 2007