Guatemala’s Politics of Accountability: Leadership War Crimes Trials

• In Event: Accountability Advocates: The Long and Winding Road to Justice in Latin America

Abstract

Guatemala has been at the frontline of the new politics of accountability in Latin America in recent years, convicting senior military officials for the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, enforced disappearance, sexual violence, and sexual and domestic slavery. This paper will explore the synergy between human rights organizations, survivors and families of the victims, and judicial operators in critical state institutions that have facilitated the pursuit of justice and accountability for war crimes in Guatemala. It argues that each of these actors brings a distinct set of knowledge and skills to the table that has contributed to these successful human rights trials, which have focused in recent years on high-profile leadership cases, even as pro-impunity sectors have mobilized to counter-act them, through hate speech and other acts of intimidation, frivolous lawsuits, and other mechanisms.

Author

• Jo-Marie Burt, George Mason University