A surprise decision was made by courts in Guatemala on September 11, 2013 as two former employees of the Spanish dam company Hydro Santa Cruz were declared innocent of the assassination of Q’anjobal community leader Andres Fransisco Miguel who was killed on the night of May 1, 2012. That night, Miguel, along with two other Q’anjobal men from the community, Pablo Antonio Pablo Pablo and Esteban Bernabé Mateo, were walking to their homes along a back road leading near the company’s installations when they were approached by a pickup truck and shot at by uniformed security guards of the company. The three men had been outspoken in opposition to a hydroelectric dam on a river in their community, and had been previously threatened by the company after refusing to sell their land.
The trial, coming to a close yesterday, was expected by all parties to result in a lifelong prison sentence for both men. Two employees of the company, Ricardo Arturo García López and Oscar Armando Ortiz Solares, were accused of carrying out the assassinations, and were charged with murder and serious injuries. The District Attorney asked for 40 years in prison for murder and 8 years for each of two counts of serious injury, meaning 56 years in prison for each of the accused men.
The two men were declared innocent of the charge of murder, but declared Ricardo Arturo Garcia Lopez guilty of inflicting “serious injury,” meaning five years in prison or a fine of about $5,700 dollars, which he can pay rather than spending time in prison. Oscar Armando Ortíz Solares was free to go.
“We’re just finding out about the ruling, and we’re very angry. This is an outrage. It’s just not fair,” reacted a family member of one of the victims.
Witnesses of the trial say that the decision came contrary to much evidence provided throughout the trial. Attorney Victor Alvarado, who represented the two Q’anjobal men, explained in an interview with Emisoras Unidas, that he would appeal the verdict, which he believes was not based on the facts presented.
Judge Eugenia Castellanos denied any proof that the two accused men were employees of Hydro Santa Cruz, however, in a strange resolution, ordered that a “roundtable dialogue” be established in Barillas between the State, personnel of Hydro Santa Cruz, and three community leaders from Barillas over the course of three months, “with the purpose of establishing the utility and necessity of the dam, taking into the account the diversity and cultural necessities of the region.
Nelton Rivera, of Prensa Comunitaria, questioned the resolution. “What’s strange here is that at no moment during the trial did the judge recognize the direct links between the company and the accused. The defense lawyer argued in various points that there was no existing proof that linked to Hydro Santa Cruz. Despite that, the court emits a resolution asking for the company to sit down in dialogue with the community. What is behind this?” he wrote in an opinion piece.
Meanwhile, President Otto Perez Molina’s recently visited Barillas, on September 3 where he said a “roundtable dialogue” would be opened starting September 19 and he was awaiting a sentence the trial. “Friday we are awaiting a sentence in the court case, which has convincing proof…we don’t want impunity and it doesn’t matter who it is, I seek respect for the law.”
Read more about the community’s effort to stop the dam on their river at our campaign. We Are All Barillas.
