A Guatemalan court has sentenced former paramilitary members to 40 years in prison after finding them guilty of raping Maya Achi Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983. The three men, former members of the Civil Self-Defense Patrol, had raped six women during a violent period of civil war. Judge Maria Eugenia Castellanos found them guilty of sexual violence, a crime against humanity. The Maya Achi case is the second trial to be held in recent years on the matter and offers an opportunity for justice and reparations.
Compiled from: Sofia Menchu, “Guatemalan ex-paramilitaries sentenced to 40 years each in Maya Achi rape trial,” Reuters, May 30, 2025.