A recent discovery of millions of pages of files from Guatemala’s National Police could help the country’s citizens, as well as the global community, take another small step towards ending impunity and establishing justice.
The police agency was disbanded in 1996 for its part in the state sponsored terror and genocide campaigns during the country’s civil war that left at least 200,000 people dead and tens of thousands of others missing.
Guatemala’s bloody history is largely due to U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, which included coups, supporting genocidal dictators and training soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques to purge the country of any “leftists.”
In addition to bringing Guatemalan actors to justice, the files could possibly shed further light into the U.S. government’s role, with the possibility of creating a path to bringing American officials to justice.
The 75 million pages of files include cabinet files labeled “Disappeared”, “assasins” and “special cases.”
The National Security Archive has provided a slide show of photographs documenting the discovery.