Genocide trial against former General set to begin

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March 22, 2024



** Supporting Genocide as Part of U.S. Foreign Policy
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** 40 years after U.S.-backed genocides against Mayan peoples of Guatemala, a genocide trial against former General Lucas García is set to begin
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As the U.S. (Canada, E.U., Australia) support and ‘legitimize’ Israel’s ethnic cleansing slaughter, destruction and forced removal of Palestinians from their ancestral lands, consider following and supporting NISGUA’s coverage of this historic genocide trial in Guatemala.

During the very worst years of U.S. backed atrocities and genocides in Guatemala, Israel – as a U.S. proxy state and allie – was also arming, training and supporting the Guatemalan military.

“From Guatemala to Palestine – NO MORE GENOCIDE”

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40 Years After the Ixil Genocide, the Case Against General Lucas García Opens in a Historic Moment
NISGUA, March 18, 2024
Sarasuadi Ochoa, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) , Justice & Accountability Coordinator, NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala)
* WHAT: Ixil Genocide Case (Trial against Manuel Benedicto Lucas García (former Chief of General Staff of the Army) for acts of genocide against the Maya Ixil people during the government of General Fernando Romeo Lucas García (1978-1982). This is the 3rd genocide case that AJR has brought forward before the Guatemalan Courts.
* WHO: AJR (Association for Justice and Reconciliation), Guatemalan organization representing genocide survivors.
* WHEN: Case beginning March 25, 2024, expected to continue for three months.
* WHERE: The case will be held at the First Court of Criminal Sentencing, Narco Activity and Crimes against the Environment, for High Risk Processes, Group "A", Guatemala City, Guatemala.

“For the Ixil region, the case against General Lucas García is very important because of the struggle that AJR has been carrying for years. What we have been searching for, and what we are always fighting for is justice for what happened during the decades of the 70s and 80s. We want justice so that this never happens again. We are heavily anticipating the case, because the witnesses are elderly now. We hope for a positive outcome.”

(AJR Board Member of the Ixil Region)

“As survivors of the Ixil Genocide call for justice in the Guatemalan Courts, this moment also invites the United States to reflect upon its role in the genocide of Indigenous people in Guatemala four decades ago. The United States provided training to the Guatemalan police and military, promoted the ‘internal enemy’ doctrine, and taught torture techniques, forced disappearance, and counterinsurgency tactics. Let this be a moment of reflection, accountability, and justice around the world.”

(NISGUA International Accompanier, Michelle Liang)
* Read more about the United States’ responsibility ([link removed])

General Information

The Ixil Genocide Case is four decades in the making. In this time, survivors and family members have aged while continuing to fight for recognition of the genocide, and many survivors have passed away without seeing justice.

The genocide against the Maya Ixil people was part of a state genocide against the indigenous

people of Guatemala that spanned decades (1960-1996), from which the Historical Clarification

Commission has registered more than 250,000 deaths and disappearances, over 1 million internal displacements, 200,000 refugees, 440 communities erased from the map, and more than 600 massacres, 70,000 orphans, and 50,000 widows.

During 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 1700 people suffered from genocide, forced disappearance and crimes against humanity by military operations deployed in the Maya Ixil region.

The opening of the case against Manuel Benedicto Lucas García is a powerful step forward in the path towards transitional justice. However, challenges remain. Although the inauguration of

President Bernardo Arévalo opens new democratic possibilities of respect for the rule of law and due legal process, corrupt figures remain in the Public Ministry and high courts, including

magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court. This creates a high risk that the process will be interrupted by illegal actions to protect the accused with impunity.

Timeline of the Case
* In 2008, the ODHAG (Human Rights office of the Archbishop) accepted the request of AJR to direct the investigation and the legal action in a criminal complaint against the Military High Command of former General Romeo Lucas García, for grave human rights violation committed by the State security forces against the Maya Ixil ethnic group between July 1st of 1978 and March 23rd of 1982.
* Between 2008 and 2019, preliminary investigation work was carried out, resulting in the identification of at least 1296 victims.
* In 2021, Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez (today in exile, due to persecution by the “Foundation Against Terrorism”) ruled that Generals Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia and Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas were to stand trial for their alleged participation in the aforementioned crimes.
* The Trial, in the Oral and Public Debate Phase, was scheduled for 2022. However, after a series of excusals of several judges and a recusal brought by the plaintiff AJR, the court was not convened until April 2023.
* On January 4, 2024, the First Criminal Sentencing Court for High Risk processes, granted
* immediate release to retired General Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas, who would have faced trial this January for his responsibility in more than 1000 deaths, forced disappearances, sexual violations and forced displacement, when he was Chief of Military Intelligence of the General Staff of the Guatemalan Army between 1978 and 1982. Experts concluded that the General is incapable of standing trial because he suffers from progressive dementia due to Parkinson’s disease. NISGUA and AJR state that this does not excuse the responsibility of retired General Callejas y Callejas.
* The Court resolved that the trial against Manuel Benedicto Lucas García will begin on March 25, 2024.

NISGUA will be posting daily updates as the case progresses.

FB: @NISGUA.Guate | X: @NISGUA_Guate | Instagram: @nisgua_solidaridad.

Rights Action Archives
* Genocide Trial: [link removed]
* Other War Crimes Trials & Work to End Corruption and Impunity: [link removed]

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