Former Guatemalan General on Trial for Ordering Massacre of Indigenous Ixil Maya People
In a courtroom in Guatemala City, the trial of 91-year-old Benedicto Lucas Garcia, a former general accused of ordering the murder of more than 1,200 indigenous Ixil Maya people during the country’s civil war, is now underway.
Lucas Garcia faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity – including widespread rape – and forced disappearances. Survivors from one village recount horrifying tales of Garcia’s troops killing children, babies, and the elderly. Despite the allegations, Lucas Garcia maintains his innocence.
The atrocities allegedly took place between 1978 and 1982, when Garcia’s brother, Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, held the presidency in Guatemala. Benedicto Lucas Garcia stands accused of orchestrating over 30 massacres in the western Quiche region.
Nery Rodenas, a lawyer and director of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala, stated that survivors have waited “more than 40 years” for justice to be served.
Due to health reasons, the ex-general followed the trial proceedings via video link from a military hospital, where he is already serving a sentence for prior charges of forced disappearance, rape, and torture. One of his co-defendants passed away in 2020, while another was deemed unfit to stand trial and will face separate legal proceedings.
During the civil war, many Ixil Maya people were targeted by the military under the suspicion of aiding Marxist rebels. The conflict, which spanned nearly 40 years, resulted in the deaths of around 200,000 individuals, with a majority being ethnic Maya.
In 2018, Guatemala’s Supreme Court of Justice officially recognized acts of genocide committed against the Ixil people. However, only a few lower-ranking soldiers have been held accountable for their involvement in war crimes. – BBC
