They lived on 18th Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues in Zone 1 of Guatemala City in the Republic of Guatemala; in this general area they particularly frequented the sector known as “Las Casetas”, where there were kiosks selling food and drinks.
The area of “Las Casetas” at that time was notorious owing to the high rate of crime and delinquency; it also sheltered a large number of “street children” – youths like Henry and his mates who basically live on the streets. They lived in extremely precarious socio-economic conditions and who fought to survive alone and fearful of a society that did not include them, but rather excluded them.
Rosa Trinidad worked in one of the kiosks in Las Casetas. She hated the children who hung around that area, to the point that she threw hot coffee at them so that they would keep away from the PEPSI COLA kiosk, where she worked.
So, it was to Henry and his mates’ pleasant surprise when Rosa one day assembled all the street children outside the kiosk and gave them soup, telling them “eat a lot I will be back in a moment I am only going to the washroom”.
Ten minutes later a vehicle parked in front of this kiosk and two individuals dressed in civilian clothes and carrying firearms got out. They threatened the youths and used force to round them all up into the vehicle. All this was done in broad daylight in public. Henry and his 3 friends were among those rounded up.
The two men were in fact members of the National Police Force - Néstor Fonseca López and Samuel Rocael Valdez Zúñiga.
They however did not make a report on the detentions, did not present the youths before the competent judicial authority and, therefore, did not allow them to file a petition for habeas corpus.
They were however held captive for some long hours – believed to be somewhere between 10 and 21 hours. The treatment they received was extremely agrressive.
They were young, defenseless and extremely frightened. They knew that their ives were in danger – and who would care? They were Street Children! One can only imagine the psychological suffering they had to endure. Unfortunately, that was not the only sufferring they had to endure.
On June 16 and 17 the bodies of Henry and his 3 friends were located in the San Nicolás Woods, zone 4 of the Municipality of Mixco. Cause of death was due to bullet wounds to the head – the forensic expert said that it was inflicted by a close range shot. Some of the boys had at least 3 shots to their heads, all fired from close range.
An Amnesty International report which was not contested by the State, mentions that:-
"...the bodies presented signs of torture: the ears and tongues had been cut off, and the eyes had been burned or extracted. Furthermore, it appears that some kind of burning liquid had been thrown on the chest and chin of Caal Sandoval. According to the Prosecutor-General’s office, the mutilations to which the four had been subjected correspond to the treatment that the police usually use on those who inform against this security force. The mutilation of the ears, eyes and tongue signifies that the person had heard or seen or spoken of something inadvisable".
On 19th November 1999, the American Court of Human Rights found Guatemala to have violated the right to life, right to humane treatment, right to personal liberty, right to a fair trial and the right to judicial protection of Henry and his mates.
To read the full judgment of the Court, go to this site and look for "Case of the 'Street Children' v. Guatemala. (Villagrán-Morales et al.) Judgment of November 19, 1999." You can download a copy of the judgment in Word or PDF format.
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