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The Star
7 days ago
- The Star
Former Guatemalan police officers, officials sentenced for deaths of 41 girls in fire
A woman reacts as mothers of victims and survivors of the 2017 fire at the Virgen de la Asuncion shelter attend the trial over the deaths of 41 children, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -A Guatemalan court on Tuesday sentenced six people to between six and 25 years in prison for the deaths of 41 children in a raging fire eight years ago inside a state shelter for at-risk youth. The sentencing is a step towards closure in one of the most horrific and deadly events in Guatemalan history. The tragedy drew international attention and highlighted pervasive abuse in the government's shelter system. The six sentenced on Tuesday - two former police officers and four former child protection officials - were found guilty of homicide, mistreatment of minors, breach of duties and abuse of authority. All pleaded not guilty. The judge said she did not have the jurisdiction to rule on charges against a seventh defendant, the country's former Children's Prosecutor at the Attorney General's Office, who had pleaded not guilty. The fire occurred on March 8, 2017, at the Virgin de la Asuncion Safe Home outside Guatemala City, when 56 girls and teenagers were padlocked in a classroom allegedly for bad behavior. After spending hours locked inside, one of the girls lit a match to a mattress, thinking it might force police to let them out, according to witnesses. Despite cries for help, police refused to open the doors for nine minutes, witnesses said. Forty one girls and teenagers died, and 15 more survived with serious burns. (Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by Emily Green, Brendan O'Boyle and Sarah Morland)
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Guatemalan ex-paramilitaries sentenced to 40 years each in Maya Achi rape trial
By Sofia Menchu GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -A top Guatemalan court on Friday sentenced three former paramilitaries each to 40 years in prison after they were found guilty of raping six Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983, the bloodiest period of the Central American nation's civil war. The trial against the former members of the so-called Civil Self-Defense Patrol, armed groups recruited by the army, began four months ago. "The soldiers arrived late at night, threw me onto the ground and raped me," Paulina Ixpata, a Maya Achi woman, said during the trial, recounting how she was held for 25 days by the military patrol. "That's how the whole night went." This is the second trial in the so-called Maya Achi case, and follows reports of sexual violence filed between 2011 and 2015 by 36 victims against former military personnel, military commissioners and civilian self-defense patrol members. The first trial, which took place in January 2022, saw five former patrol members sentenced to 30 years in prison. They remain incarcerated. In 2016, a Guatemalan court sentenced former two military officers for holding 15 women from the Q'eqchi community, who are also of Maya origin, as sex slaves at the Sepur Zarco military base, a landmark case that marked the first convictions in Guatemala of military officers for wartime rape. Both officers were sentenced to a combined 360 years in prison, where they remain incarcerated. The court also stipulated a reparations program, whose progress remains limited despite advocacy by the 15 women who were at the trial, known as the "Grandmothers of Sepur Zarco."
Reuters
10-02-2025
- Reuters
At least 30 people dead in Guatemala bus accident, authorities say
GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 10 (Reuters) - More than 30 people died and others were injured in a bus accident on Monday morning on the outskirts of Guatemala City, a spokesperson for the city's fire department said. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Kylie Madry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
