The Massacre of Rancho Bejuco
Another Defendant Set to Be Indicted in Rancho Bejuco Massacre Case, but Fails to Show up to Court
On December 10, ex-military commissioner and ex-mayor of El Chol, Nicolás Orrego Orrego, faced indictment for his role in crimes against humanity during the Rancho Bejuco massacre. The court date was set for nearly two [...]
Day 6 & 7 of the Rancho Bejuco Trial: Presentation of witnesses for the defence
The day started with Maya Kaqchikel researcher Aura Cumes' presentation of her expert report on Harassment, Persecution and Displacement in Xesiguan, Rabinal. The report examined the Achi people’s experience of Guatemalan military control during the [...]
Day 5: Rancho Bejuco Trial – Testimonies Speak to Genocidal Violence, Role of Parallel Forces
The court buildings where hearings are taking place. Photo credit: Lenora June 15, 2023 Written by Lenora A Pattern of Genocidal Violence Four witnesses shared recorded testimonies today. While the sound was not [...]
Day 4: Rancho Bejuco Trial – Survivors Continue to Share Painful Testimony
June 14, 2023 Written by Lenora [Content warning: Survivor testimony contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of the aftermath of the massacre.] Three more witnesses from Rabinal gave testimonies today. Three Witnesses Remember the Family Members [...]
Day 3: Rancho Bejuco Trial – Survivors, Expert Witnesses Speak
June 13, 2023 Written by Lenora [Content warning: Survivor testimony contains graphic descriptions of the aftermath of the massacre.] Today witnesses for the prosecution continued to provide testimony in the Rancho Bejuco case. As a [...]
Day 2: Rancho Bejuco Trial – Prosecution’s Expert Witnesses Testify
Monday, June 12, 2023 Written by María Photos of the victims from the massacre of Rancho Bejuco posted on the wall surrounding the cemetery in Rabinal, BV. (Photo Credits: Verdad y Justicia) First [...]
Day 1: Rancho Bejuco Massacre Trial Opens
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Written by Lisa A monument at the Rabinal cemetery honors the Rancho Bejuco massacre victims. Photo credit: Lisa Rankin Today, the High Risk Court D's three judge panel opened [...]
Photos of the victims from the massacre of Rancho Bejuco posted on the wall surrounding the cemetery in Rabinal, BV. (Photo Credits: Verdad y Justicia)
On the 29th of July, 1982 a group of civil patrollers and military commissioners committed a massacre in the community of Rancho Bejuco located in the municipality of El Chol, Baja Verapaz. This violence targeted a group of children and women fleeing violence in other communities. The 25 people killed in the Rancho Bejuco massacre were mostly children, some as young as 8 months old. They had fled their community of Xesiguan, Rabinal during the conflict and were looking for refuge in El Chol.
In 1997, a formal report denouncing the massacre was made. Two years later in 1999 an exhumation was performed, uncovering the bodies of 15 of the massacred. In 2022, 9 ex-civil-patrollers were captured and remanded to preventative custody by judge Erica Aifán of the high risk court D. One accused man is currently a fugitive from justice.
The case of Rancho Bejuco, in which the majority of the victims were children fleeing to safety, demonstrates the sinister plan and the structures in place by the Guatemalan state, such as the army and civil patrols, and the state coordination withcivil patrols in different municipalities to systematically destroy and eliminate the Maya Achi people.
BTS stands with the families who have been seeking justice for this crime throughout the decades.