Country: Guatemala

Group: Chuj

Date Finalized: 2/23/20

Team: Alicia Hernandez (lead), Thomas Chia, Erika Walker

Content warning: genocide, homicide, war

Approximate Time Period: 1960-1996

Civil wars in Guatemala broke out in the 1960s and continued until 1996. Indigenous ethnic groups, including the Chuj, experienced political and social discrimination throughout this time and led movements against government repression (Minority Rights Group, 2018). In response, the Guatemalan army initiated “Operation Sophia” in 1980 to destroy opposing groups (Holocaust Museum Houston [HMH], n.d.). Over 200,000 people were ultimately killed or disappeared and another 1.5 million were displaced by the widespread violence that was heavily targeted toward Mayans (HMH, n.d.). Over 600 villages were destroyed, along with cultural landmarks, in a scorched-earth policy (Center for Justice and Accountability, n.d.). Peace accords were signed in 1996 to end the long civil war, and the United Nations formed a Commission of Historical Clarification to investigate soon after (HMH, n.d.). The Commission ultimately found that the Guatemalan army committed genocide against the Ixil, K’anjob’al, Chuj, K’iche’, and Achi Mayas during Operation Sophia (HMH, n.d.). Data quality regarding the Chuj and the Guatemalan genocide can be rated a 2, since information is available from nonprofit organizations, the United Nations, and published research, although most sources found will refer to Maya in general as victims rather than specifically focusing on individual groups.

Sources

  1. Center for Justice and Accountability. (n.d.). The Guatemala Genocide Case – CJA. Retrieved February 21, 2020, from https://cja.org/what-we-do/litigation/the-guatemala-genocide-case/
  2. Holocaust Museum Houston. (n.d.). Genocide in Guatemala. Retrieved February 15, 2020, from https://hmh.org/library/research/genocide-in-guatemala-guide/#
  3. Minority Rights Group. (2018, January). Maya. Minority Rights Group. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/maya-2/