Over the past two years, the theme of human rights in Guatemala has gained an important spot in the national and international arena, in part due to the explicit commitment made by the administration of President Jorge Serrano ElÌas to bring about an end to the traditional impunity granted those who abuse human rights in Guatemala. Human rights has also been the focus of discussion for the past year in peace talks between the government and guerrillas of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG).
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The testimonies presented here-of abductions, clandestine detentions, and physical or psychological mistreatment and torture-comprise just a few examples of which Americas Watch is aware. Two occurred in 1992, while a third occurred during the government of Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (1986-1991). They are presented here in detail because there have been so few survivors of clandestine detention in Guatemala willing to take the risk of making their stories public.