A family memorial to Matilde Col Choc, a Mayan woman forcibly disappeared by Guatemalan forces during the country's civil war. Image by Jason Motlagh. Guatemala, 2017.
A family memorial to Matilde Col Choc, a Mayan woman forcibly disappeared by Guatemalan forces during the country's civil war. Image by Jason Motlagh. Guatemala, 2017.

Across Guatemala, thousands of families have been affected by mass murder, torture, and repression dating back to the country's civil war. Up to 45,000 civilians were forcibly disappeared during the 36-year conflict; an estimated 200,000 were killed. And while peace accords were signed in 1996, the war crimes of that era have largely gone unpunished.

Now with the help of forensic evidence and the testimony of survivors, some former military leaders are facing trial for the first time. Jason Motlagh traveled to Guatemala to meet some of the families still searching for justice and the truth about what happened to their loved ones.

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War and Conflict

War and Conflict