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Impunity
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The Honorable ___________________
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative ___________________________,

I am writing to express my grave concern about indications that U.S. officials are seriously considering lifting the decade-plus ban on military assistance to Guatemala. A recent delegation of U.S. members of Congress recently traveled to Guatemala to verify modernization of the Guatemalan army for just this purpose – determining whether U.S. support should be released to the Guatemalan military. I strongly believe that now is not the proper moment to offer this type of support. No training or funds should be released to the Guatemalan military until the military has cleaned house

This is particularly concerning at a time when human rights violations in Guatemala continue at an all-time high. Contrary to initial beliefs that such violations would decrease under the new Berger administration, they have remained constant, except in the countryside, where the number of violations has escalated dramatically, most recently evidenced by the bloody confrontation that took the lives of nine people at the Nueva Linda plantation in REtalhue.

Furthermore, staff members at a number of the most prominent human rights organizations have been the targets of recent threats. Among these institutions include the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) – an organization instrumental in pressing Guatemalan authorities to prosecute those responsible for carrying out massacres and genocide during Guatemala’s armed conflict. Specifically, Edda Gaviola, CALDH’s new director, had her home broken into on July 14 and July 15; CALDH’s Guatemala City offices were broken into on July 16; a telephone bomb threat was left at CALDH’s offices on July 30; and nearly daily acts of intimidation since then forced CALDH to shut their doors for a brief period of time. Similarly, state institutions that try to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations, corruption, and other illicit activities have been targeted in recent months. Among the victims of bomb threats have been:

Unfortunately, such incidents are not restricted to this case alone. On July 22, Jesús Mendoza became the fourth of Otoniel de la Roca Mendoza’s relatives to be murdered in retaliation for his testimony against the Guatemalan State in the Efraín Bámaca Velásquez case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights brought by Jennifer Harbury in 2000. After Otoniel testified about the military intelligence structures responsible for his and so many others’ torture and disappearance, he received threats indicating he would be killed after the murder of every one of his remaining family members in Guatemala. As promised, every year since his testimony a family member has been murdered. Since 2000, Otoniel has been under surveillance in the U.S., and has received numerous phone threats from Guatemala and from the United States. In 2002, Efraín’s sisters were subject to threats and brutal beatings within Guatemala and were forced to go into hiding.

I am concerned that recent threats and attacks related to the Plan de Sánchez and Bámaca cases represent highly coordinated efforts to intimidate massacre survivors and others from campaigning for justice. Ex-military personnel implicated in past human rights abuses are widely suspected of belonging to criminal networks and parallel powers in Guatemala that continue to target human rights defenders for their efforts to end impunity in Guatemala. I believe that members of these criminal networks are responsible for these recent attacks. As you are aware, Guatemalan human rights organizations called for the creation of the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatus (CICIACS), which would have the power to help investigate these networks. It is imperative that the U.S. government hold the Berger administration to its stated commitment to establish CICIACS – a CICIACS that comports with Guatemalan law but does not lack the components necessary for true investigatory and prosecutorial effectiveness.

I am also gravely concerned that Guatemalan officials are not taking these threats seriously. After the July 18 tear gas bomb, the local prosecutor in Salamá implied the threat was not politically motivated but was simply an intra-community conflict. On August 10, in a meeting with representatives of the non-governmental organizations Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), the Guatemalan Ambassador reiterated doubts that these threats are politically-driven, implying they could be the result of a local disagreement or even something orchestrated by the witness himself.

Therefore, I urge you, as the representative of the U.S. government in Guatemala, to follow-up with Guatemalan authorities to determine the progress of the investigations into these cases, especially considering the serious nature of the threats and the clear targeting of U.S. citizens as well as Guatemalans. I ask that you urge Attorney General Juan Luis Florido to ensure adequate protection to witnesses, their relatives, and related organizations, including CALDH and the survivors’ organization Association for Justice and Reconciliation; 24-hour police presence to CALDH offices as previously agreed; and that prompt, impartial, and exhaustive investigations into the assassinations and death threats immediately be conducted.

Finally, it is my understanding that a recent delegation of U.S. congresspeople visited Guatemala to verify modernization of the Guatemalan army for the purpose of determining whether U.S. support should be released to the Guatemalan military. I strongly believe that now is not the proper moment to offer this type of support and ask that your office express this position to Congress. No training or funds should be released to the Guatemalan military until the military has cleaned house by cooperating fully with state prosecutors investigating past army atrocities against the civilian population; and the Guatemalan government has indicated a real commitment to dismantling the criminal networks responsible for organized crime, narcotrafficking, and continued human rights abuses by establishing CICIACS and allowing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to open offices in Guatemala.

I thank you for your time and request a response to this letter that outlines the position of, and steps taken by, the U.S. Embassy with regard to these matters.

Sincerely,

_________________________________________________

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