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
Solidarity Update: July 2019
News Recap: Huehuetenango communities march against militarization, Escalation of tension, threats and defamation against the peaceful resistance to mining in Mataquescuintla, NISGUA Oakland takes action for immigrant justice on Amazon Prime Day, Thank you [...]
Escalation of tension, threats and defamation in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala
July 23, 2019 Escalation of tension, threats and defamation against the peaceful resistance to mining in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala On July 5th, in the evening, members of the Peaceful Resistance of Mataquescuintla were at one [...]
Escalada de tensiones, amenazas y difamación en Mataquescuintla
23 de julio 2019 Escalada de tensiones, amenazas y difamación en contra de la resistencia pacífica a la minería en Mataquescuintla, Guatemala La noche de viernes 5 de julio, integrantes de la Resistencia Pacífica [...]
Accompanier Zine: Militarization & Resistance at the Mexico/Guatemala Border
Former NISGUA accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/them or she/her) created this zine about militarization and resistance as a Friends and Family Letter to their community. To read the zine as a PDF, click [...]
Carta al gobernador de Huehuetenango: No militarización gringa sin consulta
Rubén Herrera, Coordinador General de la ADH, entrega el Memorial de Zacaleu a los representantes del gobernador de Huehuetenango el 11 de julio, 2019. El 11 de julio, 2019, comunidades de [...]
Letter to Huehuetenango Governor: No U.S. Militarization without Consultation
Rubén Herrera, General Coordinator of the ADH, present the Petition of Zacaleu to representatives of the Governor of Huehuetenango on July 11, 2019. On July 11, 2019, communities of Huehuetenango marched [...]