Guatemala, the Question of Genocide : Routledge : 9781138301757 : 1138301752 : 28 Nov 2017 : In Guatemala, it was called the "trial of the century": the 2013 prosecution of former de facto head of state (1982-1983) General José Efraín Ríos Montt and his intelligence chief, General José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Maya-Ixil people. Ríos Montt's seventeen-month reign was one of the bloodiest periods in Guatemala's history, with "scorched earth" massacres, the destruction of hundreds of Maya communities, and militarized resettlement of Mayas into "model villages." Ríos Montt was convicted on all charges. Ten days later, a higher court vacated the verdict on dubious procedural grounds. Nevertheless, Guatemala's genocide trial, held in the domestic courts in the country where the crimes were committed, was precedent-setting. In this volume, Guatemalan and international scholars rigorously explore the complexities of the Guatem