Forensic Evidence Represents a Turning Point for Justice in Guatemala Louise Olivier, Open Society Foundation 25 March 2016   Kakchiquel Mayan women listen to instructions from members of the FAFG regarding boxes containing the remains of 10 wartime victims on July 18, 2014.   Located in Cobán, 219 kilometers north of Guatemala City, CREOMPAZ, a former military base, was closed in 2004. Known as Military Zone 21, in 2012 it was the site

GHRC Visits Political Prisoners in Guatemala City Jail El Quetzal Published by the Guatemala human RiGhts Commission/USA HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS AND UPDATES WINTER 2015-2016 ISSUE #20   On August 14, 2015, GHRC and Prensa Comunitaria sat across from Rigoberto Juárez and Domingo Baltazar, two of many land rights defenders currently in Guatemala City’s jail facing trumped-up criminal charges in Guatemala. The visit represented an e ort to document

Guatemalan prosecutors urge president to resign amid scandal Alberto Arce, The Associated Press 28 August 2015 Image: Protesters carry a mock coffin topped with a cutout image of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina during a national strike calling for his resignation, in Guatemala City, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015(AP Photo/Moises Castillo) GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Pressure grew Thursday on Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina to resign as business

Guatemala’s Embattled President The Editorial Board, New York Times 26 August 2015   Image: President Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala. Credit Johan Ordonez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A decade ago, corruption in Guatemala was regarded as an indomitable, institutionalized plague. It was possible to scrape off a few layers, but hopeless to try to root it out. Now a team of dogged investigators and prosecutors is on the cusp of an astonishing

Genocide Retrial Is Set for Guatemalan Former Dictator Elisabeth Malkin, New York Times 25 August 2015   Image: Former Guatemalan leader General José Efraín Rios Montt is currently facing trial for genocide during his time in office (Photo Credit: Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images).   MEXICO CITY — A Guatemalan court ruled on Tuesday that the former dictator Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt must face a new genocide trial in the persecution of

Guatemala: Ex-Dictator is Found Unfit The Associated Press, New York Times 7 July 2015   Government-backed experts have said the former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Rios Montt, 89, is mentally incompetent. A three-judge panel must now decide if a trial set for July 23 will proceed despite the opinion, issued last week by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. Prosecutors say Mr. Rios Montt is responsible for the deaths of 1,771 Mayan

Searching for Peace and Justice in Guatemala David Gonzalez, New York Times 15 April 2015   Guatemala’s 36-year civil war may have ended in 1996, but peace – of mind or community – has been elusive. Impunity reigns, allowing organized crime and drug traffickers to operate their deadly enterprises without interference. Street gangs that started in Los Angeles can even be found in dusty villages that have few paved streets, making life unbearable

Ronald Reagan's genocidal secret: A true story of right-wing impunity in Guatemala Miles Culpepper, Salon 24 March 2015   On Jan. 5 of this year, the Associated Press issued two short reports on a trial against aging former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt that by and large went unnoticed in the United States.  The first announced that the genocide trial, suspended in 2013, would finally resume.  The second, hours later, updated

Florida no longer safe haven for war criminals as US prosecutors take action Richard Luscombe, The Guardian 23 March 2015   As one of an estimated 3.6 million senior citizens living in Florida, Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova found the perfect place to hide in plain sight. From shopping trips with his wife Lourdes in the upscale malls of Daytona Beach to gourmet meals at popular restaurants, he appeared to be just another septuagenerian enjoying

Amnesia por decreto By Mercedes Hernández, El Mundo 29 May 2014   El olvido es la falsificación del pasado. La mutilación de la Historia ha sido norma y herencia de todas las dictaduras. Guatemala no es la excepción, es un Estado más entre los empeñados en borrar la huella de los graves crímenes que en otro momento han amparado contra sus propios habitantes. El conflicto armado interno que devastó este país centroamericano, por casi 40