The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?
by Francisco Goldman
Grove Press: NY: 2008
412 pp w/index
$15
The 1980s in Guatemala were marked by the worst human rights abuses in the decades-long civil war. Eventually, a civilian government came to power for the first time in thirty years, and the country began slowly to attempt to recover, in the midst of continuing violence from elements of the military. Juan Gerardi Conadera returned from his exile in Costa Rica and became bishop of Guatemala City. The Archdiocese and the UN established offices dealing with the human rights problems in the country. Under the direction of Bishop Gerardi, in particular, the Project for the Recovery of Historical Memory (REMHI) was founded in 1994 to document what had happened. Peace Accords ending the civil war were signed in 1996
On 24 April 1998, REMHI released its report on the human rights abuses, Guatemala: Never Again! Two days later, on 24 April 1998, Bishop Gerardi was bludgeoned to death in the parish house garage, after returning from dinner with his sister
The resulting story begins there, told by a journalist who followed the case for nearly ten years. The original crime was promptly contaminated. One of the alleged forensic experts brought in for an autopsy seems to have been primarily interested in souvenir collection. Death threats against witnesses occur frequently in the book. One suspect, in prison at the time of the crime, seems to have a suitable alibi, until one realizes that the prisoners effectively control the prison and that the suspect has regularly been released for hours at a time various days and nights -- and, although scheduled for release BEFORE the Bishop's murder, had most curiously requested that his release be delayed for several days, so that the official paperwork showed him released AFTER the murder
This provides a detailed look at Guatemalan society and Guatemalan justice during that era, including stories of army training programs that ended with soldiers ordered to go kill a few civilians randomly in order to "graduate," international rightwing propaganda on behalf of violent military suspects, and assaults on or murders of family members of several key players in the investigation. A number of people flee the country