The facts of the case concern the impunity surrounding the extrajudicial execution of eleven people (including 3 children) and the injuries caused to 29 other people who lived on the Xamán farm, carried out by members of the Armed Forces in October 1995.

The IA Court situated the facts of the case in the context of the internal armed conflict in Guatemala between 1962 and 1996, during which the so-called “national security doctrine” that considered the Maya people an “internal enemy” was applied.

In its sentence, the IA Court established State responsibility for the lack of diligence in the detention of the fugitives, in spite of the issuance of arrest warrants. It also analyzed the special duties of the State with regards to children victims of the massacre.