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
Peaceful Resistance Camp in Casillas protests in front of Guatemalan Constitutional Court
Members of the Peaceful Resistance Camp in Casillas have created a second camp in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. They arrived one week ago and will remain until court justices make a decision [...]
AJR ¡Presente! in ongoing genocide retrial
Today, Survivors of massacres in the 80s from Chimaltenango traveled to participate in the trial against Rodríguez Sánchez for the Ixil genocide. The AJR (Association for Justice and Reconciliation) is made up of [...]
Recording: Alex Escobar talks about youth organizing; Grabación: Alex Escobar habla sobre la organización juvenil
[español abajo] An online presentation from our annual speaking tour, "Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life"! Who is JODVID? Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID, in Spanish) is a Guatemalan environmental justice [...]
Sobrevivientes comparten sus observaciones mientras Ríos Montt está procesado por genocidio…otra vez
El 13 de octubre, el caso por genocidio del pueblo ixil se abrió de nuevo contra el ex-dictador Efraín Ríos Montt y José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, ex-jefe de inteligencia militar. Este fue el segundo [...]
Survivors share their reflections as Ríos Montt is tried for genocide…again
On October 13, the Ixil genocide trial is set to open once again against former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, former head of military intelligence, in the second attempt to retry [...]
Solidarity Update: September 2017
News recap: Solidarity in the streets; U.S. Speaking Tour, "Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life," kicks off on October 9th; Thousands call for resignation of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Congressional representatives; Grieving [...]