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Description
Four armed soldiers patrol mountainous terrain near the municipality of Zaragoza, Department of Chimaltenango. They are each carrying an IMI Galil rifle of Israeli origin. They crossed streams and climbed mountains to check on guerilla movements in isolated hamlets by questioning campesinos. Most soldiers forced to patrol as part of the "Patrol of Self-Defense" program in the 1980s were Mayan men. Patrols were used by the military to destroy civil organizing and to control any political networks of rural Mayans. The UN-administered Truth Commission, known as the Commission of Historical Clarification documented more tan 600 massacres committed by government forces against civilians in predominately Mayan areas between 1981 and 1983. Cuatro soldados armados patrullan un terreno montañoso cerca del municipio de Zaragoza, departamento de Chimaltenango. Los soldados portan un fusil IMI Galil de origen israelí. Cruzaron arroyos y escalaron montañas para controlar los movimientos de guerrilleros en aldeas aisladas interrogando a los campesinos. La mayoría de los soldados obligados a patrullar como parte del programa "Patrulla de Autodefensa" en la década de los ochenta eran hombres mayas. Las patrullas fueron utilizadas por los militares para destruir la organización civil y controlar a cualquier red política de los mayas rurales. La comisión de la verdad administrada por la ONU, conocida como la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico, documentó más de 600 masacres cometidas por fuerzas gubernamentales contra civiles en áreas predominantemente mayas entre 1981 y 1983.
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