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Description
A group of three soldiers at an army checkpoint 35 miles north of Guatemala City. One soldier is standing on the jeep while holding on to a M1919 Browning machine gun of U.S. origin. The soldier standing next to the vehicle is holding an IMI Galil rifle of Israeli origin. Both soldiers are wearing a large black armband that reads, "PM," which identifies them as members of the military police. Sitting next to them on the left of the image is another soldier. 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. Un grupo de tres soldados en un retén militar localizado a 35 millas al norte de la Ciudad de Guatemala. Un soldado yace parado sobre el vehículo mientras sostiene una ametralladora M1919 Browning de origen estadounidense. El soldado parado junto al vehículo porta un fusil IMI Galil de origen israelí. Los dos soldados portan un brazalete negro que lee "PM," lo cual los identifica como miembros de la policia militar. Sentados junto a ellos sobre la izquierda de la imagen se observa a un soldado sentado. La mayoría de los soldados obligados a patrullar como parte del programa "Patrulla de Autodefensa" en 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.
Documentary photographs Combat patrols Guatemala. Ejército Firearms Guatemala--History--Civil War, 1960-1996 Soldiers Military police Military vehicles
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