Mass grave prompts criminal probe in Guatemala

The discovery of 74 skeletons in a mass grave in Guatemala have prompted the start of a criminal investigation against a former army colonel who ran the military outpost where the remains were found, victims said today.

Juan de Dios Garcia, director of a Mayan human rights association, said his organisation filed the complaint against Colonel Jose Antonio Solares Gonzalez, the latest in a string of high-ranking military officers accused of carrying out mass killings during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.

While some of the complaints have been investigated, none have resulted in convictions, mostly because of an inefficient justice system that allows for unending appeals.

Solares’ whereabouts was unknown. The Guatemalan army said he retired in 1996 and left no forwarding address.

The complaint will be investigated by prosecutors, who will decide whether to pursue charges.

The grave was found in 2003, and the victims are among an estimated 5,000 Mayan Indians killed in Rabinal, a section of highlands that suffered the highest number of massacres during the war.

Another group of Rabinal victims found last year in five different mass graves were reburied yesterday by family members.