Jorge Carpio was a Vice President of the Liberal International. Jorge Carpio was assassinated in 1993. Some fingers point in the direction of common criminals, many more point at the military, where many had reasons to fear Jorge Carpio.
The concern of the campaign of Liberal International is that not enough is being done to find the culprits.
The new President of Guatemala has announced, that he will launch an new investigation. However, in the past little evidence of the existence of such an investigation has been seen. Also it is not yet clear if a general amnesty for all military personnel will be considered as part of the peace negotiations, which would also cover the murder of Jorge Carpio.
Dead due to his ideals
Jorge Carpio Nicolle was one of the driving forces of true liberalism in Guatemala, of human rights and democracy. On 3 July 1993 he was assassinated by 25 armed men, many believe because of his pursuit of these values. The extra-judicial execution of Jorge Carpio has never been properly investigated by the authorities, nor have those responsible been prosecuted. Key evidence (e.g. police photographs and autopsy reports ) have been lost and several witnesses have refused to testify. The principal police investigator, Augusto Medina, was assassinated in October 1994 and the public prosecutor to the case, Abraham Mendez, has been subject to a campaign of harassment including having his car machine-gunned. It has to be assumed that very powerful people are protecting those guilty of the assassination, the people that ordered or benefited from the execution of Jorge Carpio in the first place.
At the time of his death, Jorge Carpio was leading a campaign, as Head of Congress, to reject an amnesty for those military officers involved in the Serranazo of May 1993. The Serranazo was a self-coup by President Serrano which dissolved the Congress and the Supreme Court. Shortly after the coup President Serrano was dismissed by legal means and Jorge Carpio's cousin, Ramiro de Leon Carpio was elected President. (See also section in the end: Short history and politics of Guatemala) As Ramiro de Leon Carpio was a former Human Rights Ombudsman of Guatemala, it has been suggested that Jorge Carpio was assassinated for two reasons; to stop his campaign against the amnesty for the military officers involved in the Serranazo, and to warn the newly elected president not to push the armed forces too far.
President Leon Carpio replaced the hard-line Minister of Defence Jose Garcia Samayoa for a more constitutional alternative just three days before the assassination of Jorge Carpio. It is also known that Samayoa called Jorge Carpio three times a month earlier on June 5, and told him "in a menacing tone" that he should not oppose the amnesty. Many facts pointed in the direction of the military when the people responsible for the murder were tracked down.
Powerful men behind the murder
That summer day, the 3rd of July, eight people travelled in a minibus on their way to Chichicastenango. In the minibus were Jorge Carpio, his wife Marta Arrivillaga de Carpio, party colleagues and members of his security guard. At one point the car was stopped by approximately 25 men armed with Galil rifles, M-16s and other modern weaponry. All eight of them were pulled out of the minibus and when Jorge Carpio was recognised he was shot down in cold blood. Also, one of the members of his security guard and two party colleagues were killed. Jorge Carpio's wife was left unharmed.
Several Human Rights groups have signed a report on the Carpio case, where they state that evidence proves that Jorge Carpio was murdered by the civil patrol (PAC) from San Pedro, Jocopilas and that this group is operating under the command of the military. Exactly who gave the order is unclear and should be sorted out. Initially, witnesses blamed the armed opposition; later, officials suggested the victims died during a robbery. However, the victims were not robbed.
Following pressure from the Archbishop's Human Rights Office (ODHA), which drew up a list of 20 suspects from the infamous San Pedro Jocopilas Civil Patrol (PAC) in Quiche, the police detained four people. A week later the judge ordered the release of three suspects for lack of evidence. The remaining prisoner, Juan Acabal Patzan, was already likely to be convicted to the murder of two other people and could be an obvious "fall guy" if the military had to sacrifice someone. Juan Acabal Patzan is the key witness to the case. At the time of the assassination he belonged to the San Pedro Jocopilas civil patrol (PAC), one of the most feared and brutal civil patrols in the whole of Guatemala. This PAC group has been used for extra-judicial executions several times outside its own region. Patzan was arrested in August 1993 for two murders committed just outside Guatemala City when the police discovered that Patzan's gun was the same weapon used to kill Jorge Carpio.
The case is still important
Ten thousand people attended Jorge Carpio's funeral. He had been the chief editor of one of the most influential newspapers in Guatemala, he had been Head of Congress and amongst many other things he was the founder of the biggest opposition party in Guatemala. Twice he had finished second in the presidential elections.
As Jorge Carpio was, and still is, a recognised and respected man in Guatemala, his case has drawn widespread attention. Members of the Carpio family have continued to press for full investigation of the case and have not accepted the Government's theory that Carpio was murdered by common thieves .
Due to the family's work the case has not been forgotten. The UN Verification Mission to Guatemala, MINUGUA, drew attention to the case in their latest report in August 1995, highlighting the government's failure to resolve it or protect those involved in pursuing it. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organisation of American States (OAS) issued a resolution in August 1995 calling on the Guatemalan government to protect the prosecutor and witnesses involved in the case.
The Carpio case is important not only because a prominent liberal politician died, but also because it gives an opportunity for breaking down the wall of impunity that exists in Guatemala, and for showing that the justice system can prosecute those responsible for extra-judicial executions, regardless of whether or not they are linked to the security or armed forces.
Common thieves?
Jorge Carpio founded the UCN together with Ramiro de Leon Carpio. They were cousins and in their youth they very close friends. However Ramiro de Leon and Jorge had some differences of opinion in the late 80s, which led to Ramiro's resignation from the UCN.
According to Ramiro, Jorges and Ramiro were on friendly terms at the time of the killing, despite their previous differences of opinion. However, Ramiro de Leon Carpio sticks to the government's policy that Jorge was murdered by common criminals, and that the murder did not have any political motives.
It is Jorge Carpio's former daughter-in-law Karen Fischer and Jorges' widow Martha Arrivillaga de Carpio, who have pursued the case. Also, all major human rights organisations are convinced that the murder of Jorge Carpio was political.
According to these Human Rights organisations, Ramiro de Leon is reluctant to admit that the murder of Jorge Carpio was political, because he fears the military. Even though Ramiro de Leon Carpio has always been one of the foremost spokesmen for human rights in Guatemala, the human rights situation did not get better during his presidency; on the contrary the number of extrajudicial executions increased. Christian Tomuschat, a UN human rights expert, said during Ramiro's presidency that "Ramiro de Leon is a virtual prisoner of the military".
What can be done to pursue the case?
The Carpio case is still at the pre-trial stage. Evidence has been lost and the prosecutor to the case, Abraham Mendez, has tried to seek justice, but has been intimidated and has had his car machine-gunned. Also key witnesses have been threatened and have therefore refused to testify. It is important for the world community to put pressure on the Guatemalan government to prosecute all those held responsible. This means that politicians from other countries should:
1. Ask for protection for the Carpio family, the prosecution and witnesses involved in the case in order to get the trial going.
2. Press for prosecution of all who are responsible. There is strong evidence that the PAC from San Pedro Jocopilas committed the actual murder. The reason they haven't been convicted is that they are protected by powerful men.
3. Ask the government to try to track down those who gave the order to kill Carpio. As of now there is not enough evidence to point out any specific persons, although the facts point in the direction of the military. Above all, clarity is needed.
Guatemala: Short history and politics
After Guatemala's independence in 1821, there was relative stability in the country under different dictators. Col. Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was chosen President in 1944. He started a programme of land reform which was strongly opposed by the landowners and in 1954 Arbenz was overthrown in a coup led by Col. Carlos Castillo Armas. After the Carlos Castillo Armas coup, violence and guerrilla fighting became everyday life in Guatemala. The leaders overthrew each other, mostly by violent means. In the 70's alone, approximately 60,000 lives were lost in political violence in Guatemala. Both right- and left-wing 'death squads' have been active ever since. Under the rule of Rios Montt in the beginning of the 80's the PAC (Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil), a pro-Government peasant militia was established. The driving force behind the PAC was the 'guns and beans' policy, which meant that you could get food and medicine in exchange for recruitment to the PAC. Soon there were 900,000 men involved in the PAC. The PACs have lived on and are still a feared weapon of the military and the government.
After Gen. Mejia Victores' successful coup against Pres. Rios Montt in 1983, some reforms where taken and work on a new constitution began. However, the 'death squads' and PAC were still active. In 1984 an election for the Constituent Assembly was held and the newly founded Union del Centro Nacional (UCN) gained the greatest number of votes. Jorge Carpio Nicolle who was the founder of UCN was nominated as their presidential candidate in the 1985 elections. He came second after Mario Vinico Cerezo Arevalo from the Partido Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca (PDCG). Under his rule the violence continued. Both the right-wing death-squads and the army/ police committed serious crimes and violated human rights extensively.
In the 1991 presidential elections, Jorge Carpio Nicolle and Jorge Serrano Elias were the two remaining candidates in the second round. Serrano won, but he soon encountered problems conducting his presidential duties. Members of the state security council started a campaign of violence to destabilise the country. They acted on their own and the results were disastrous. Negotiations between the guerrillas and the Government which were taking place at this time continued, however without result. In May 1993, unrest at economic austerity measures, in particular electricity price increases, escalated as public confidence in the Government declined. In that month, a rally attended by some 10,000 people was staged in the capital to demand Serrano's resignation. With the country's stability in jeopardy Serrano, with the support of the military, suspended parts of the Constitution and dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court.
After extremely negative domestic and international reactions to this constitutional coup, Serrano was peacefully and constitutionally dismissed on June 1, 1993. On June 5, Congress elected then Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon Carpio to finish Serrano's presidential term. Ramiro de Leon Carpio and Jorge Carpio Nicolle were cousins and long-time political allies. The assassination of Jorge Carpio came only a few weeks after the new President's inauguration. During 1994, Congress, the Supreme court and the Cabinet were re-elected.
Recent events
In January 1996, the presidency of Ramiro de Leon Carpio was finished at the end of its term. In the Presidential elections, two conservative candidates made it to the second round. Alvaro Arzu from the Partido de Accion National (PAN) won over Alfonso Portillo from the Frente Revolucionario Guate-malteco (FRG). The participation in the elections was only 40 per cent, and Alvaro Arzu won largely with the votes he gained in Guatemala City. Alfonso Portillos had greater support in the countryside because he was the candidate of the party founded by the dictator in exile General Efrain Rios Montt.
The new President has stated that he is going to continue the peace-negotiations with the main guerrilla group Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). The UN Under-Secretary-General for political Affairs, Marrack Goulding, said that the right conditions exist for the United Nations to launch a new round of Guatemalan peace negotiations. On 25th June 1996, Marta de Carpio informed Liberal International that, as part of the ongoing peace negotiations in Guatemala, a general amnesty for all human rights infringements by the armed forces is being discussed. This amnesty would also cover those who ordered the assassination of Carpio and is in general a very worrying development.