Massacre Victims Paid

President Alfonso Portillo paid Guatemala's first ever compensation to survivors of an army massacre, publicly apologizing for "shameful acts" committed by security forces in a war against leftist rebels, reports Reuters (Dec. 10, 2001). In a symbolic ceremony, Portillo handed a check for US$1.8 million to the families of 226 men, women and children killed by soldiers and paramilitaries in the village of Las Dos Erres in 1982 at the height of Guatemala's 36-year civil war. The massacre -- in which rights groups say more than 300 people were killed -- was one of hundreds during the conflict between leftist guerrillas and a string of right-wing governments, which ended with peace talks in 1996. Portillo called the payout "the beginning of a new step forward for human rights in Guatemala," and said it would pave the way for future payments relating to other massacres.