Torture Returns to
Guatemala
The recent discovery of
seven bodies with signs
of torture generates
suspicion of the return
of violent practices in
Guatemala.
The bodies of five men,
some strangled, with
their throats slit and
body wounds made by a
sharp instrument, were
found on the road
linking Antigua
Guatemala and the
Escuintla Department on
Thursday morning.
One of the men, still
alive, was immediately
sent to a hospital in
the colonial city.
According to National
Civil Police, these 20
to 35-year-old
individuals belonged to
a gang that attacks
buses in the area.
Meanwhile, on a road
leading to El Pulte
faro, in the outskirts
of the capital,
voluntary firemen found
the bodies of three men
aged 30-35, in similar
circumstances, who might
have been car thieves.
Both events triggered
alarm at the likelihood
of a so-called "social
cleansing," which ended
early this year in the
wake of constant
denunciations by
humanitarian groups.
"We are very concerned
about the apparent
resumption of these
practices and the State
inaction in
investigating such
incidents or dismantling
the gangs involved,"
said Iduvina Hernandez,
from the Security in
Democracy group.
She also warned of the
possibility that they
are trying to exacerbate
the perception of
violence in order to
favor candidates who
urge a get tough policy
and total security to
face crime. |
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