Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below.

WHERE IS SHE? LUZ LETICIA HERNÁNDEZ AGUSTÍN
44 years after her forced disappearance we demand TRUTH and JUSTICE

Families and advocates of victims of the Internal Armed Conflict, as well as social organizations and human rights organizations, demand a just and guilty sentence for the responsible parties in the disappearance of LUZ LETICIA HERNÁNDEZ AGUSTÍN, who was disappeared and detained by forces of the state and the military apparatus on November 22, 1982.

Luz Leticia was illegally detained on her 25th birthday, was never put before a judge, and has been missing ever since. The oral and public debate of her case started on May 5 of this year, before the 8th Court of Criminal Activity, Drugs Crimes and Environmental Crimes, of which the accused is JUAN FRANCISCO CIFUENTES CANO, on trial for the crimes of human rights violations and forced disappearance. Cifuentes Cano acted as the Commander in Chief of Special Operations of the then National Police in November 1982, during the de facto government of Efraín Ríos Montt. He is also currently on trial in the Military Diary case.

This trial has made use of testimonies, documents, newspapers, and expert witnesses that prove the facts of the case. 44 years have passed since Luz Leticia’s family began their unceasing search, and have called on various institutions to bring those responsible to trial. In 2001, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH) concluded that the state of Guatemala violated Luz Leticia’s rights to life, humane treatment, personal liberty, and a fair trial.

In 2007 the state of Guatemala offered her family a settlement deal, which they rejected on the grounds that it would not shed light on the mystery of her present whereabouts, a mystery that likewise remains unsolved for the other 45,000 people detained and disappeared in Guatemala during the Internal Armed Conflict.

NO MORE IMPUNITY
WE DEMAND TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR LUZ LETICIA

#We will keep looking for her
#Until we find her

Alianza Política Sector de Mujeres, Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos de Guatemala-FAMDEGUA, Asociación para la Justicia y la Reconciliación-AJR-, Asociación Feminista La Cuerda, Centro Internacional para investigaciones en Derechos Humanos-CIDH, Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos-CALDH, Colectivo Acción Comunitaria, Colectivo de Familiares del Diario Militar, Conferencia de Religiosos y Religiosas de Guatemala-CONFREGUA, Coordinadora Nacional de Viudas de Guatemala-CONAVIGUA, Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial -ECAP, Federación Guatemalteca de Escuelas Radiofónicas-FGER, Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo-GAM, Hijas e hijos por la identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y el Silencio – H.I.J.O.S Guatemala, Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala-ODHAG, Plataforma Nacional de Organizaciones de Víctimas del conflicto armado interno, Sector Interreligioso Centinelas, Seguridad en Democracia-SEDEM, SinDecoro Voces Feministas, Unidad de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos-UDEFEGUA, Unión Nacional de Mujeres Guatemaltecas-UNAMG.

Guatemala, August 24, 2026

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