54.
In addition, Santiago Pop Coc, an eight-year-old boy, was executed some minutes after the
above-narrated events. According to the CEH, as the patrol was leaving the center of the community, "a
soldier deliberately shot the boy Santiago Pop ... striking him in the wrist ... as he was walking along the road
carrying his fishing pole.”52 When Santiago Pop attempted to flee, "the soldier returned and, from a short
distance, shot him in the chest and head, killing him."53
55.
The CEH identified the following community members who were wounded: (i) Aurelio
Hernández Morales; (ii) Carmen Caal Saquiq; (iii) Efraín Grave Morente; (iv) Eliseo Hernández Morales; (v)
Francisco Hernández; (vi) Gerardo Maldonado Sales; (vii) Jacinta Matón; (viii) Josefa Mendoza Aguilar; (ix)
Juan Medina Toma; (x) Juana Andrés Maldonado; (xi) Juana Felipe Velásquez; (xii) Marcos Jolomna Yat; (xiii)
Martín Quip Mocú; (xiv) Mateo Pedro; (xv) Natividad Sales; (xvi) Pascual José Pascual; (xvii) Pedro Daniel
Carrillo López; (xviii) Ricardo Pop Caal; (xix) Rolando Hernández Maldonado; (xx) Rosenda Sales Ortiz; (xxi)
Rosendo Morales Ortiz; (xxii) Santiago Cajbón Quip; (xxiii) Santiago Maquin; (xxiv) Santos Choc Max Coc;
(xxv) Tomás Grave Morente; (xxvi) Víctor Carrillo; and (xxvii) Micaela Pascual.54
56.
Apart from the individuals identified by the CEH as having been wounded, the petitioners
and the State concurred that José Hernández Maldonado and Germán Cajbon Choc were also wounded.55
57.
Likewise, they concurred that (i) Santiago Maquin and (ii) Gerardo Maldonado Sales later
died.56 For their part, the petitioners reported that Rosendo Morales Ortiz also died subsequently.57 The latter
was not refuted by the State.
58.
The petitioners said that Alfonso Hernández Maldonado, who survived the events, later
committed suicide as a result of the breakdown he suffered after the massacre.58 The State did not refute that
fact either.
59.
In its report, the CEH reached the following conclusions regarding the “Xamán Massacre”:
[The] firm conclusion has been reached that 11 inhabitants of the Aurora 8 de Octubre
community, including two children, were executed by Guatemalan army personnel in an
incident in which another 28 people were wounded. The events amounted to a gross
violation of the right to life and there is no justification for the crime committed, not even
legitimate self-defense against the victims' aggression, since the soldiers' response was
wholly disproportionate.
The CEH is of the opinion that this reprehensible massacre was not planned in advance nor
ordered by a superior, but that its origins may be found in the patrol's imprudently planned
[… continuation]
49 He was shot at point-blank range while wounded. See: Annex 2. CEH, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Volume VI, Illustrative
Cases, Annex 1, Illustrative Case No. 3: Xamán Massacre.
50
Annex 2. CEH, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Volume VI, Illustrative Cases, Annex 1, Illustrative Case No. 3: Xamán Massacre.
51
Annex 4. Petitioners' communication received on November 16, 1995.
52
Annex 2. CEH, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Volume VI, Illustrative Cases, Annex 1, Illustrative Case No. 3: Xamán Massacre.
53
Annex 2. CEH, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Volume VI, Illustrative Cases, Annex 1, Illustrative Case No. 3: Xamán Massacre.
54
Annex 2. CEH, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Volume VI, Illustrative Cases, Annex 1, Illustrative Case No. 3: Xamán Massacre.
55
Annex 5. State's communication of July 24, 2009. Annex 6. Petitioners' communication of May 11, 2010.
56
Annex 5. State's communication of July 24, 2009. Annex 6. Petitioners' communication of May 11, 2010
57
Annex 7. Petitioners’ communication of July 24, 2009.
58
Annex 6. Petitioners' communication of May 11, 2010.
13