Guatemalan Military Commander Sentenced for Massacre, Acquittal of Eight Others Stirs Controversy
A retired military commander in Guatemala has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a massacre that took place during the government of Efraín Ríos Montt (1982-1983). However, the acquittal of eight other army members accused of the crime has sparked outrage and disappointment.
The massacre, which left 25 people from an indigenous community in the north of the country dead, took place in the Rancho Bejuco hamlet, located about 80 kilometers north of Guatemala City. Relatives of the victims expressed their dissatisfaction with the court’s decision, stating that justice was not fully served.
Pedrina Alvarado, a relative of eight of the victims, expressed her frustration, saying, “They only convicted one, and the other eight left laughing.” The Court of Higher Risk “D,” led by Judge Walter Eugenio Mazariegos, handed down the sentence to Commander Juan Ovalle Salazar while releasing the other soldiers involved in the case.
Judge Mazariegos justified the acquittal of the eight soldiers by stating that they were compelled to commit the crimes and did not act out of their own will. This decision has been met with criticism from human rights advocates and the families of the victims.
The sentencing has left a bitter taste for many, including lawyer Lucía Xiloj, who represents the victims’ families. Xiloj argued that the soldiers were under military command and had specific assigned tasks. She added, “There was evidence that the patrolmen stigmatized this community and wanted to participate in the armed forces.”
The massacre occurred on July 29, 1982, when members of the Army bombed the victims’ homes and buried their bodies in a common grave. The motive behind the massacre was the victims’ refusal to join the Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC), a paramilitary force controlled by the State.
The acquittal of the eight soldiers has fueled further disappointment and frustration among the victims’ families, who have been seeking justice for 27 years. One victim, who was raped by one of the defendants and impregnated as a result, was not given the opportunity to testify during the trial.
The massacre took place during the 17-month government of Efraín Ríos Montt, a regime remembered as the bloodiest period of Guatemala’s internal armed conflict. According to the Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH), 1,500 indigenous people were massacred under Ríos Montt’s rule.
The internal armed conflict in Guatemala lasted for 36 years, from 1960 to 1996, and resulted in more than 250,000 deaths and disappearances. The signing of a peace agreement in 1996 marked an end to the bloody conflict.