Military Zone 21 – CREOMPAZ
On January 6, 2016, 14 former military officers were arrested on charges of forced disappearance and crimes against humanity based on evidence uncovered at the CREOMPAZ military center in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Now a United Nations peacekeeper training base, CREOMPAZ (Regional Training Command for Peacekeeping Operations) operated as a detention and clandestine execution center during Guatemala’s Internal Armed Conflict, when it was known as Military Zone 21. Between 2012 and 2015, the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) carried out 14 exhumations at CREOMPAZ and found 558 human remains in fourteen graves, representing the largest known case of forced disappearance in Latin America.
Spanning crimes committed from 1981 – 1988, the Military Zone 21 (CREOMPAZ) case sets the record in Guatemala, not only for the number of disappeared victims, but also for the time span over which the crimes were committed. Among the high-ranking individuals indicted is Manuel Benedicto Lucas García, who served as former Army Chief of Staff during his brother’s 1978-1982 military dictatorship, and who is currently imprisoned for his role in crimes against humanity committed against the Molina Theissen family. The trial is an important step in the legal trajectory seeking justice for crimes against humanity and represents more than 30 years of hard work by survivor organizations.
In-depth NISGUA reports
The largest case of forced disappearance in Latin America
The same people who carried out genocide in Nebaj were the same who carried out genocide in Plan de Sánchez and throughout Baja and Alta Verapaz. It’s important that the high- ranking military command are tried for these crimes.
Latest from our blog
Statement/Comunicado: Reaffirming our solidarity with the Palestinian people // Reafirmando nuestra solidaridad con el pueblo Palestino
Español a continuación The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) reaffirms its solidarity with the Palestinian people who defend life and territory, resist occupation and apartheid, and struggle against [...]
September Solidarity Update // Actualización Solidaria de Septiembre 2024
Members of the delegation assemble before beginning their journey. Photo by NISGUA // Integrantes de la delegación se reúnen antes de iniciar su viaje. Foto de NISGUA (Español abajo) Dear NISGUA friends, [...]
Actualización del caso Genocidio Ixil. Del 9 al 12 de septiembre del 2024
Lunes 9 de septiembre, audiencia 69 Este día se presentó la perito Claudia Eugenia Rivera Fernández, quien ratificó 4 peritajes. El primero está relacionado a la exhumación realizada en Acul, Nebaj, Quiché de fecha [...]
Ixil Genocide Case Update. September 9-12, 2024
Monday, September 9, hearing 69 The expert witness Claudia Eugenia Rivera Fernandez appeared and ratified 4 expert reports. The first is related to the exhumation carried out in Acul, Nebaj, Quiché on April 20, [...]
Ixil Genocide Case Update. September 2nd 2024
September 2, 2024, Hearing 68 On Monday, September 2, the expert Guillermo Vázquez appeared at the Court via zoom call from the Guatemalan consulate in Mexico. His first expert report corresponds to the one [...]
Actualización del caso Genocidio Ixil. 2 de septiembre del 2024
Lunes 2 de septiembre de 2024. Audiencia 68 El lunes 2 de septiembre se presentó desde el consulado de Guatemala en México el perito Guillermo Vázquez. El primer peritaje corresponde al realizado en el [...]