December 3, 1995
FACTS:
On the afternoon of December 2, 1995 at approximately 3 pm the
body of Lucina Cardenas Ramirez was found semi-buried near the town of San
Martin Sacatepequez with three bullets in her back. The body was
exhumed and an autopsy performed the following day with an official
report still pending. MINUGUA (United Nations Mission in Guatemala) is
involved in the investigation and should be issuing a report.
On November 27, 1995, at approximately 7 pm, the Mexican citizen,
LUCINA CARDENAS RAMIREZ, was travelling with the Guatemalan citizen Oto
Leonel Hernandez Lopez on the road from Talisman, Mexico, to
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. They were driving a Datsun pick-up truck,
double cabin, model 1994, license plate 286-HCL of the Federal District,
Mexico.
Ahead of them was another vehicle with two additional colleagues
of Lucina Cardenas. Both vehicles were driving toward the same
destination in the city of Quetzaltenango. When the occupants of the
first vehicle arrived, they waited for the pick-up carrying Lucina
Cardenas and Oto Leonel, then went searching for them when they did not
appear. Suddenly, the occupants of the other vehicle saw their
colleagues' pick-up pass at full speed, headed for Quetzaltenango, but
they could neither stop it nor determine whether their colleagues were
inside.
The next day, November 28, Oto Leonel appeared in Quetzaltenango
with bullet wounds. He described how, approximately 20 km outside of
Quetzaltenango, the vehicle in which he and Lucina Cardenas were
travelling was intercepted by another vehicle which crossed lanes to
force them off the road and began firing shots. Lucina was apparently hit by
a bullet, screamed, lurched forward, and caused the car to accelerate. Oto
Leonel pulled the car back onto the road's shoulder and jumped out amidst
gunfire. He was also wounded and hid for hours as he was pursued by those who
had fired on the truck. We believe, but cannot yet confirm, that these shots
were from a 9 millimeter pistol (associated with military intelligence).
Finally, Oto Leonel lost consciousness. He reached Quetzaltenango the next
day.
Lucina had been receiving death threat in Quetzaltenango since
1993. In 1994, these death threats expanded to include two other women who
worked with her in organizing a craft cooperative in the Ixil zone, Salcaja,
sponsored and supported initially by the World Labor
Organization of the United Nations and the Dutch government. This project
created an independent cooperative named "Trama." All of the people
travelling with Lucina on November 27 were participating artisans in this
cooperative.
Lucina received some protection in 1994 from the Mexican
Consulate in Quetzaltenango after she wrote a letter in July of that year
citing a death threat mailed to her post office box and signed by the "alto
mando, comando urbano de Accion Directa." It was directed at her and two
other women working in Trama and stated, "tienen que salir antes del 30 de
Junio o van a ser eliminada (you must leave before the 30th of June or you
will be eliminated). The protection ended in 1995 and the threats temporarily
ceased. During the past two months, the threats began again. Sources close to
Lucina claim that she had recently decided to leave Guatemala. On November
27, she was driving from the Mexican border to her home with a truck sent
from Mexico in order to pack her belongings and leave the country. Something
had clearly frightened her into finally deciding to go.
Please send your letters to:
C. Ramiro de Leon Carpio
Presidente de Guatemala
fax (502-2) 2 99 68
Sr. Danilo Parrineo Nanco
Ministro de Gobernacion
fax (502-2) 51 53 68
MINUGUA in New York
fax (212) 963-5065
For updates and to encourage MINUGUA to pursue this case, please put in a
call of concern to Peter Barwick (#2 person of MUNUGUA office in
Quetzaltenango) at (502-9) 630 788 or (502-9) 630 789.
SAMPLE LETTER
C. Ramiro de Leon Carpio
Presidente de Guatemala
Mr. President,
I am writing to express my outrage at the kidnapping and murder
of Lucina Cardenas Ramirez. Lucina's body was found semi-buried near the town
of San Martin Sacatepequez with three bullets in her back on
December 2, 1995.
Lucina, who had been receiving death threats for two years, was a
Mexican citizen who had lived in Guatemala since 1992. She founded a
women's craft cooperative in Quetzaltenango called "Trama" and worked
with artisans in Quetzaltenango, the Ixil zone, and in Salcaja. We are
deeply saddened and disturbed by her death and are determined that those
responsible be held accountable.
While Guatemala has recently taken some steps to try and improve
its human rights situation, this incident and countless others like it,
suggest that human rights can still be violated with impunity. Periods
between primary and final elections in Guatemala can be particularly
volatile, as this case suggests. In the case of Lucina Cardenas Ramirez
and countless others, we request your intervention so that:
1. This outrageous incident be investigated in accordance with the law
and those responsible for it be punished.
2. The Guatemalan government and all of its offices, the military, the
national police, and local police all be held accountable for obeying the
rules outlined in the Global Accord on Human Rights, signed in Guatemala in
1994.
3. Those who consistently violate the human rights of people such as
Lucina Cardenas Ramirez and countless others whose cases are not
publicized be prohibited from acting with impunity and held accountable
for their actions.
We will actively pursue a response to our demands and appreciate
your attention to this extremely important matter.
______________
Jennie Purnell
Political Science
Boston College
purnell/po@hermes.bc.edu