During the time of the military government of Romeo Lucas García (1978-1982), the Guatemalan state and army designed and implemented its policy of genocide. While Romero Lucas García was in power, more than 1,700 people were victims of the crimes of genocide, forced disappearance and crimes against humanity by the military operations deployed in the Maya Ixil region. Currently, two former military chiefs will face trial for these crimes in the Ixil Lucas García Genocide Case.

 

The syndicates:

  • Benedicto Lucas García: Chief of the General Staff of the Army. Brother of former President Romeo Lucas García.
  • Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas: Head of Military Intelligence, G2

 

*César Noguera Argueta: Chief of Military Operations, G3, died in October 2020 while waiting for the resolution to open trial

 

Lucas García and Callejas y Callejas have been in prison since 2016, having been sentenced in 2018 to 58 years for crimes against humanity, aggravated sexual violence and forced disappearance in the case of Emma and Marco Antonio Molina Theissen.

 

The defendants were linked to the process in November 2019, and according to the last resolution of August 30, 2021, the trial is still in the charge of High Risk Court A, presided over by Judge Yassmín Barrios, who found Efraín Ríos Montt guilty of genocide in 2013.

 

The organization we accompany in this case is the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR).