Government repression in the countryside surrounding Rio Negro grew sharply throughout the fall of 1981. Following an army-led massacre of 200+ innocent civilians in Rabinal, the municipal capital, villages were forced to set up Civilian Patrols (PACs) in order to assist the military in their control over the district.
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For a brief historical overview of the Rio Negro/Chixoy Dam massacres, please follow this link to the 'About This Project' page of this website: http://rionegroproject.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
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The community of Xococ, located partway between Rabinal and Rio Negro, was not unlike countless other rural, predominately Maya villages of the time. Their first confrontation with the army was in October 1981, in which soldiers opened fire on a group of farmers harvesting peanuts, killing eighteen. After the PAC was formed, members expressed their willingness to cooperate under any circumstances with the military to avoid further confrontations.
Several months later, in February 1982, a group of
arsonists, presumably guerrillas, burned down the market and killed five
community members. The army was quick to blame community members from Rio
Negro, who by this time were in conflict with the government due to their
resistant stance on displacement from the Chixoy Dam.
From this point on, Rio Negro campesinos were considered part of the guerrilla and enemies of
Xococ – despite their long history of friendship and trade.
It’s important to note that by this time the Xococ PAC had received
specific training, weapons, and guidance from the notoriously ruthless and far
rightwing command at the local military detachment. They were participating in army-led
massacres throughout the region, and several of the top commanders of this unit
are now serving life sentences for their brutal acts of murder, rape,
kidnapping, and torture.
It was just days after the market burning incident that 150
Rio Negro citizens were ordered to report in Xococ with their IDs. Upon their
arrival, the head of the PAC accused them of being guerrillas and burning their
market. Leaders denied the accusation, stating that the market was of
importance to them as well, and that they had no reason to destroy it. The
confrontation ended without violence, yet the commander held their IDs, saying
that they could retrieve them the following week.
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Theodora Chen, then 46 years old, was one of the 74 individuals who returned to Xococ that following week to collect their ID's, and remains the only survivor of the massacre that transpired on that day, February 13, 1981.
It was on a cool and blustery afternoon this past December
that Theodora gave me her testimony, from outside her home in Pacux. Speaking
solely in Maya Achi, her words were translated into Spanish by my interpreter,
Pablo Chen Chen.
