Ex-general stands trial for genocide of Indigenous Guatemalans

A 91-year-old retired Guatemalan general went on trial Friday for genocide in the second such case linked to the massacre of Indigenous people during the country’s 1960-1996 civil war. Benedicto Lucas Garcia is accused of involvement in the killing of more than 1,200 Ixil Maya people between 1978 and 1982, when his brother was president.

He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and forced disappearance, which carry a possible sentence of more than 100 years in prison.