Carlos Antonio Carias Lopez gestures after being sentenced to 6,060 years in prison on August 02, 2011 in Guatemala City. Carias Lopez was sentenced for the murder of 252 farmers in 1982, the killing was one of bloodiest slaughters during the 1960-96 civil war and ocurred in the Dos Erres village, Peten departament, 600 km north of Guatemala. - AFP Photo

GUATEMALA CITY: A Guatemalan court sentenced four former military officers to 6,060 years in prison each on Tuesday for the slaughter of more than 200 civilians in 1982 during the country’s civil war.

“This court unanimously declared the accused as perpetrators of murder. For this crime, a sentence of 30 years in prison for each victim comes to a total of 6,030 years,” the court said in its decision.

In addition, the court sentenced each former officer to another 30 years in prison for a “crime against humanity by state security forces,” bringing the total to 6,060 years in prison for each man.

The killings took place over three days in December 1982 as part of the country’s 1960-1996 civil war. Witnesses said the victims included pregnant women, children and the elderly. The only survivors were several children.

The court said the killings were “perverse” because they “erased from the map” the village of Dos Erres in the Peten department.

The convicted men, Antonio Carlos Carias, Manuel Pop, Reyes Collin and Daniel Martinez, were part of the elite “Kabil” army force when they took part in the massacre, according to the charge sheet.

Pedro Pimentel has also been detained in connection with the case after being deported from the US last month. Another three men have been arrested in connection with the massacre, two of them in Guatemala and one in Canada.

The massacre occurred during the military regime of General Efrain Rios Montt, who is alleged to have ordered the attack.

The former army chief currently has two open cases against him in Spain and Guatemala for crimes against humanity.

The massacre at Dos Erres is one of the 699 cases documented by the Historical Clarification Commission, whose report cites around 200,000 casualties from Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.

Opinion

Disputed canal project

Disputed canal project

It seems that PP, which claims to champion the struggle for people’s democratic rights, is now only interested in protecting its own power.

Editorial

Forgotten inmates
Updated 26 Feb, 2025

Forgotten inmates

Diversion programmes are needed for minor offences and people with psychosocial disabilities should receive treatment rather than be jailed.
Controlling crypto
26 Feb, 2025

Controlling crypto

THOUGH Pakistan’s official position on cryptocurrencies has evolved considerably over the years, there still seems...
Deadly roads
26 Feb, 2025

Deadly roads

DRIVING in Karachi can be hazardous, with chaos on the roads, and very little by way of following rules and...
All out
Updated 25 Feb, 2025

All out

PAKISTAN cricket captain Mohammad Rizwan’s assessment was brutal — it could not have been any other way. At ...
Bearing the brunt
25 Feb, 2025

Bearing the brunt

FOR the past several months, we have repeatedly been told by the prime minister and his cabinet that the government...
Afghan resettlement
25 Feb, 2025

Afghan resettlement

AFGHAN refugees who fled their country after the Taliban took over in 2021, and who hoped to resettle in the West,...