Genocide in the Mayan Highlands
Genocide in the Mayan Highlands
“They took them one by one to a ravine that was about twenty meters from where we were. We heard shots, screams and crying.”- Jesús Tecú Osorio. This was a testimony given by one on the survivors of the Guatemalan genocide of the Mayan highlands. The Guatemalan government used its counter insurgency force, to put pressure upon the Mayans who claimed they were starting a communist group. The Mayans natural allies the guerrillas added to the uprising human rights violations. This led masse of defenseless Mayan communities, including children, women and the elderly to be slaughtered, through many methods of cruelty. In 1982, General Efraín Ríos Montt replaced Lucas García as head of state, his reign from March 1982 to August 1983 was the bloodiest period in Guatemala's history. During that time, the Guatemalan government in this case the oppressors, led a campaign to wipe out large portions of the country's indigenous populations, the Mayans the victims of this genocide. An estimated 70,000 were killed or disappeared. The first of many raids was in On February 13, 1982, the Guatemalan army stormed into the northern Guatemala Ixcan village of Santa María Tzejá. The people that lived in the village had already fled in terror of being killed. Over the next six days seventeen of them, mostly women and children, were caught and massacred, animals were slaughtered, and the entire village was burned to the ground.
Subsequently another attack happened on March 13, 1982 it was another civilization living in the Maya highland, when unexpectedly a Guatemalan army entered the village of Rio Negro. By the time the soldiers were finished, hundreds of people, including 70 women and 107 children, had been massacred and dumped in a mass grave. The cause for the attacks was the political violence between the Mayans and the Guatemalan government. The Guerrilla, the Mayans allies organizations were founded, adopting communist views. In that year, a
“They took them one by one to a ravine that was about twenty meters from where we were. We heard shots, screams and crying.”- Jesús Tecú Osorio. This was a testimony given by one on the survivors of the Guatemalan genocide of the Mayan highlands. The Guatemalan government used its counter insurgency force, to put pressure upon the Mayans who claimed they were starting a communist group. The Mayans natural allies the guerrillas added to the uprising human rights violations. This led masse of defenseless Mayan communities, including children, women and the elderly to be slaughtered, through many methods of cruelty. In 1982, General Efraín Ríos Montt replaced Lucas García as head of state, his reign from March 1982 to August 1983 was the bloodiest period in Guatemala's history. During that time, the Guatemalan government in this case the oppressors, led a campaign to wipe out large portions of the country's indigenous populations, the Mayans the victims of this genocide. An estimated 70,000 were killed or disappeared. The first of many raids was in On February 13, 1982, the Guatemalan army stormed into the northern Guatemala Ixcan village of Santa María Tzejá. The people that lived in the village had already fled in terror of being killed. Over the next six days seventeen of them, mostly women and children, were caught and massacred, animals were slaughtered, and the entire village was burned to the ground.
Subsequently another attack happened on March 13, 1982 it was another civilization living in the Maya highland, when unexpectedly a Guatemalan army entered the village of Rio Negro. By the time the soldiers were finished, hundreds of people, including 70 women and 107 children, had been massacred and dumped in a mass grave. The cause for the attacks was the political violence between the Mayans and the Guatemalan government. The Guerrilla, the Mayans allies organizations were founded, adopting communist views. In that year, a