The case is still under investigation by the Human Rights Prosecutor of the Public Ministry.
The ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CourtHR) of December 22 against the State of Guatemala for the massacre of the village of Los Josefinos in the north of the country during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996) is the first step in the search for justice for the inhabitants of the place.
Said ruling was applauded this Saturday at a virtual press conference by the survivors of the massacre perpetrated in 1982, who demanded that the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) of Guatemala investigate the massacre locally as ordered by the Inter-American Court.
“We thank God for this international ruling after almost 40 years of the massacre,” the representative of the survivors and victims of Los Josefinos, Carlos Navarijo, said at the press conference.
“To date, the serious crimes that were committed in our community remain unpunished,” added Navarijo, who also referred to the Public Ministry to “expedite the investigations to find the intellectual and material authors of the massacre,” in which At least 38 people were killed.
The judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights was released on December 22 against the State of Guatemala due to the forced disappearance, forced displacement and violation of multiple rights of the villagers in 1982.
The town is located in the municipality of Las Cruces, in the department of Petén, about 500 kilometers north of Guatemala City, where the press conference was held this Saturday.
Navarijo recalled that “victims of the internal armed conflict have historically been denied access to justice” and called for “full compliance with what is established” by the Inter-American Court.
Despite a complaint filed by the Association of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA), the criminal investigations began nearly 14 years after the events, specifically in 1996.
Currently, the case is still in the investigation stage by the Human Rights Prosecutor of the Public Ministry.
The massacre took place on April 29 and 30, 1982, within the framework of the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, one of the bloodiest in Latin America with more than 245,000 people killed or disappeared, most at the hands of the State, according to reports. of international organizations.
According to the lawsuit before the international court, on the morning of April 29, 1982, armed members of the guerrilla (Guatemalan rebel forces) would have entered the village of Los Josefinos, where they captured and murdered two subjects for their alleged links with the Army.
After a confrontation with the guerrillas, the Guatemalan Army allegedly besieged the village, not letting its inhabitants leave, and after midnight on April 30, 1982, they invaded it.
Subsequently, the members of the Army killed at least five patrolmen who were in the street, and then began to burn the houses, massacring their inhabitants, entering the houses to verify if there were survivors and murdering those they found, including men, Women and children.
At least 38 people died as a result of the massacre, which forced several members of the community to flee to nearby villages or abroad.
repair measures
Among the reparation measures ordered on December 22 by the Inter-American Court, it is established that all the obstacles that maintain the impunity of the case must be removed and investigations must be initiated to prosecute and punish those responsible for the massacre in Guatemala.
In addition, the court requests the preparation of a detailed plan for the search for the forcibly disappeared members of the Josefinos village, as well as for the location, exhumation and identification of the people allegedly executed.
Similarly, the international body ordered to improve the health center located in the village of Los Josefinos with the provision of human resources for physical, psychological and dental care of the population, among other medical services.
The Inter-American Court also determined the need to continue with the construction of a monument in the area of the town where a clandestine grave was found and the economic remuneration of the survivors of the victims.
“The most important court in the region, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, was reached because the State of Guatemala has not wanted to respond to the victims,” said Carlos Martínez, representative of the humanitarian entity Human Rights Law Firm, which supported the legal process of the victims before the Inter-American Court.
Navarijo, for his part, reiterated this Saturday the pain of what he suffered from the massacre since “some” of the residents of Los Josefinos “we never found them again.” (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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