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January 25, 2022

Guatemala Convicts Ex-Soldiers of Raping Indigenous Women in 1980s
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In Guatemala, five former paramilitary soldiers have been convicted of
crimes against humanity and sentenced to decades in prison for sexually
assaulting dozens of Indigenous Achí women in the 1980s. The historic
ruling comes after years of advocacy by survivors and supporters. The
women weren't able to file criminal complaints of the atrocities until
2011. It then took over a decade for the former members of the so-called
Civil Self-Defense Patrol to stand trial earlier this month. The patrol
was made up of several armed groups, recruited by Guatemala's
U.S.-backed army. Survivors said the soldiers rounded up all the men in
their village and disappeared them before raping and assaulting the
women. One of the survivors who testified at the trial was only 12 years
old when she was raped.


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