Today is the 14th anniversary of Bishop Juan Gerardi‘s death. Although you won’t find anything in the news about it (except passing references in Tulsa World and the Jamaica Observer). He was a major advocate for indigenous people in Guatemala and a proponent of human rights during Guatemala’s civil war. He was killed on April 26, 1998. Two days after presenting Guatemala: Nunca Más (Guatemala: Never Again), which implicated the army through its detailed, eyewitness accounts of atrocities committed during the conflict. Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, which claimed over 200,000 lives, ended in 1996.
If you are interested in learning more about Bishop Gerardi and this period of Guatemalan history, order a copy of Francisco Goldman’s outstanding The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?