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] The image is a photograph taken at night of the national palace of Guatemala, which is illuminated with artificial lights and you can see the shadows of people looking towards the building. [ESP] La imagen es una fotografía tomada de noche del palacio nacional de Guatemala, que se encuentra iluminado con luces artificiales y se alcanzan a ver las sombras de personas que están mirando hacia el edificio.](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/signal-2024-02-14-142806-320x202.jpeg)
February solidarity update
After 106 days of resistance of Indigenous people in the national strike against corruption and in defense of democracy in Guatemala, our partners continue the fight for truth, memory, and justice. In this solidarity [...]
![[ESP] En un espacio abierto con el cielo azul de fondo, una manta blanca con el rostro de una persona socializada como hombre en blanco y negro, debajo letras en color negro ilegible, la manta es sostenida por una persona por detrás. [ENG] In an open space with blue sky in the background, a white blanket with the face of a person socialized as a man in black and white, underneath letters in illegible black, the blanket is held by a person from behind.](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/1-7-320x202.jpeg)
42nd anniversary of the forced disappearance of Emil Bustamante
February 13,2024 commemorates the 42nd anniversary of the forced disappearance of Emil Bustamante, a university social leader. His families, friends and organized collectives gathered to march to the Matamoros military headquarters, where he was [...]
42 años de la desaparición forzada de Emil Bustamante
El 13 de febrero del 2024, se conmemoraron 42 años de la desaparición forzada de Emil Bustamante, líder social universitario. Sus familiares, amistades y colectivos organizados, se reunieron para marchar hacia el cuartel Matamoros, [...]
Statement in solidarity with community journalist Norma Sancir
(Spanish below) On January 31, Judge Jorge Douglas Ochoa of the Criminal Sentencing Court of the Department of Chiquimula sentenced a commissioner and two agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) for the crime [...]
Statement: ODHAG offices raided
The Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala (ODHAG) denounces that during the early morning hours of February 14, the offices of Culture and Peace, the programs of historical memory, childhood, conflict transformation [...]
![[ENG] A photograph taken in a street in the open air, a table with books and yellow flowers, in front a sign with beige background and red letters reading: "Free Palestine" accompanied by a Palestinian flag (black, red, white and green colors). Behind a multitude of people standing or sitting on some concrete bleachers, some of them holding the Guatemalan flag (light blue and white). [ESP] Fotografía tomada en una calle al aire libre, una mesa con libros y flores amarillas, delante un cartel con fondo beige y letras rojas en el que se lee: "Palestina libre" acompañado de una bandera palestina (colores negro, rojo, blanco y verde). Detrás una multitud de personas de pie o sentadas en unas gradas de hormigón, algunas de ellas sosteniendo la bandera de Guatemala (azul claro y blanco).](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/Palestina-guatemala-1-320x202.jpeg)
Solidaridad con el pueblo Palestino
La Red de Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) reafirma su solidaridad con el pueblo Palestino que defiende la vida y el territorio, resiste la ocupación y el apartheid, y lucha contra la [...]