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 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
![[ENG] At the top in the middle the FAMDEGUA logo. In a white background with black letters the statement. [ESP] En el medio de la página en la parte superior el logo de FAMDEGUA, en un fondo blanco con letras negras el pronunciamiento.](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/signal-2023-10-02-132657_002-320x202.jpeg)
Statement faced with the kidnapping of the people’s decision through the policies of State terrorism implemented by the current government and its criminal pact.
As Families of disappeared persons detained in Guatemala, we express: A resounding rejection to the grotesque and improper raid in the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which reminds us of the worst moments of the dictatorships [...]
AJR reject with total indignation the law initiative 6099
THE ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION -AJR- TO THE PUBLIC OPINION COMMUNICATES: The victims and survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict (IAC) organized in the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) reject with total [...]
![[ENG] A photograph of people in a protest outside a building with many windows, the building signs read "Constitutional Court" and a person socialized as a man, holding a sign that reads: "No to electoral fraud". [ESP] Una fotografía de personas en un plantón afuera de un edificio con muchas ventanas, en el edificio se lee “Corte Constitucional” y una persona socializada como hombre, sostiene un cartel que dice: “No al fraude electoral”](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/signal-2023-06-12-122640_002-320x202.jpeg)
🌱 Actualización solidaria de septiembre
Las elecciones del 2023, han sido la concreción de décadas de violaciones a derechos humanos, implementados desde la época colonial hasta la fecha, con la consolidación del poder en las manos de unos pocos [...]
🌱 September Solidarity Update
The elections of 2023 have been a materialization of decades of human rights violations, implemented since colonial times to this day, with the consolidation of power in the hands of a few to carry [...]
Press realease from the Assembly of the People of Huehuetenango
Before national and international public opinion, we make it known that: The ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE OF HUEHUETENANGO IN DEFENSE OF TERRITORY AND FOR THE AUTONOMY AND FREE DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLE (ADH) on [...]
4th Municipal Water Protection Agreement – Municipality of Aguacatán
For years the Departmental Assembly of the People of Huehuetenango (ADH) has remained strong in the defense of the territory from different strategies, last June 21, 2023, the 4th Municipal Water Protection Agreement was [...]