Foundation For Human Rights in Guatemala

The Massacre at Sacuchun - Overview

Sacuchun Dolores is a small village located high-up, above the clouds, near the town of San Marcos, Guatemala.  In January, 1982, the Guatemalan army massacred 47 people from the town.

The Catholic Church began the REMHI (Recovery of the Historical Memory) project with the vision of seeking reconciliation and healing for the victims of atrocities during the 36 year civil conflict which took the lives of 200,000 people and displaced 1,000.000 individuals.  Analysis of the results of almost 7,000 interviews with victims was embodied in a report published on April 24, 1998, by Bishop Juan Gerardi, the visionary of REMHI.  The report was called, "Guatemala: Never Again".  Two days after the publishing of the report, which attributed to the Guatemalan army over 90% of the atrocities and over 400 massacres, Bishop Gerardi was murdered in his garage.  Over 3 years later, in June of 2001, three high-ranking individuals from the Guatemalan Military were convicted of the murder.  A Catholic Priest was convicted of complicity.

What follows is one of the testimonies, taken by the REMHI team of San Marcos, of the massacre at Sacuchun.

The Sacuchun Massacre testimony

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