On November 7 a court acquited 3 former kaibiles accused in the Dos Erres massacre case despite that in 3 previous trials several military officers were convicted and the facts were proven.
During this trial Gilberto Jordán, José Mardoqueo Ortiz & Alfonso Bulux Vicente were accused of killing more than 200 people in 1982, Jordan confessed to US agents while waiting for deportation his participation in the Dos Erres Massacre.
A Dos Erres case hearing on June 14, 2023. In the center with a pale blut t- shirt a witness gave his testimony to the Court. Photo credit: NISGUA
We express our solidarity to the families and survivors who were revictimized during this trial and we echo guatemalan civil society organizations condemning this pro-impunity sentence. As our partner FAMDEGUA stated:
“This resolution is clearly in line with the strategies of impunity of those responsible for atrocious crimes, in which the truthfulness of the facts and the evidence admitted in the present proceedings was distorted and even ordered to be physically destroyed, adding to the actions and policies of forced disappearance and the cover-up of the serious acts committed by the State against Indigenous peoples and civilian populations, taking away the right to truth and justice from the victims of these crimes.”
Read their full statement below:
FAMDEGUA
Expresses
Absolute support, recognition, and solidarity with the victims and survivors of the massacre in Dos Erres, Petén, who for more than four decades have searched for justice and have affirmed the dignity of their family members and victims of extrajudicial executions, torture, and sexual violence, in spite of the terrible and incommensurable harm caused by the State through policies of racism and extermination against entire populations.
REJECTS
Emphatically the way that the court referred to the victims, demonstrating not only partiality, but a complete lack of empathy with the victims of crimes of humanity that truncated the lives of more than 200 people, including children, and the life work of the survivors.
In this same sense, this resolution is clearly in line with the strategies of impunity of those responsible for atrocious crimes, in which the truthfulness of the facts and the evidence admitted in the present proceedings was distorted and even ordered to be physically destroyed, adding to the actions and policies of forced disappearance and the cover-up of the serious acts committed by the State against Indigenous peoples and civilian populations, taking away the right to truth and justice from the victims of these crimes.
REMEMBERS
That three sentences have been dictated at the national level that support and reaffirm the truth of the victims and survivors, which have also been accredited in foreign courts. Therefore we consider this resolution to be absolutely inappropriate and to demonstrate the current weakness of the justice system in Guatemala.
REAFFIRMS
Its commitment to search for truth and to accompany the victims of policies of extermination, sexual violence and slavery, and forced disappearance during the Internal Armed Conflict.
Guatemala, November 7th, 2023
Read the statement in Spanish below
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