GUATEMALA CITY—Prosecutors on Wednesday announced the arrest of more than a dozen former military and government officials for alleged crimes against humanity committed during Guatemala’s civil war, and initiated human rights proceedings against an ally of President-elect Jimmy Morales.
Among the 14 people detained was Benedicto Lucas Garcia, a former army commander credited with founding paramilitary groups during the 1960–1996 conflict. He is also the brother of the late President Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, who ruled Guatemala with an iron fist from 1978 to 1982.
Also detained were retired Gen. Francisco Luis Gordillo, who helped bring former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt to power from 1982 to 1983, and Byron Barrientos, who was interior minister during the 2000–2004 presidency of Alfonso Portillo.
The suspects face charges of crimes against humanity involving massacres and disappearances of people by security forces under their command. They were ordered held in a military base prison ahead of a court hearing expected Friday.
