Silence gave way to testimony. Twenty-two Maya communities—survivors and families from Achi’, Kaqchikel, Ixil, K’iche’, Q’eqchi’, Chuj, and Q’anjob’al peoples—transformed grief into demands across two decades in court.

They brought former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt to trial—the first genocide case against a head of state in Guatemala. They pursued Retired General Manuel Benedicto Lucas García through 99 hearings. Delays came, rulings were annulled—but the truth held: genocide did occur.

Here we show how the AJR made this possible—through organizing, persistence, and solidarity that crosses borders and generations.