Publication

This report examines the trial against Guatemalan General and ex-President José Efraín Ríos Montt and related broader issues of the country’s legal system. It looks at the case against Rios Montt and the trial itself as well as at the verdict and its reversal. It also looks at the impact the trial has had on the witnesses in the case and the nation's justice system. The authors conclude that the trial was less about prosecuting former generals than about showing that Guatemala's political leaders and courts are willing and able to apply the rule of law to protect its citizens. This attempt to instill trust in the system, however, was shaken by when the verdict was reversed.