The Guatemalan military officer accused of kidnappings and executions who died before facing justice: the White Panel, 11 victims, and a trial that never came

A photo montage brings together portraits of Clodoveo Domínguez as a young man and as an elderly adult, with images in the background of people who disappeared during the events related to the "White Panel," carried out during Guatemala's internal war. (Illustrative image Infobae) Without ever facing the audience of his first arraignment for crimes against humanity in Guatemala, retired military officer Clodoveo Domínguez de León died of natural causes. The death occurred on the night of November 10 in the department of Suchitepéquez, where he resided. Domínguez faced charges for the crimes of forced disappearance and duties against humanity due to his alleged participation in kidnappings and extrajudicial executions perpetrated during Guatemala's internal war. The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) accused the former officer of being part of a structure that planned and executed the clandestine capture of 11 civilians between 1987 and 1988. During the internal armed conflict, the National Police of Guatemala kept a Diary that recorded the disappearance of dozens of people who were kidnapped, tortured, and executed, several of whom were taken in a White Panel. (Military Diary) According to the prosecutorial file, six of the victims suffered extrajudicial execution and five managed to survive captivity. The repressive operations used a van with no official license plate to intercept people they accused of having ties to the guerrilla or exercising social leadership. Domínguez rose to the rank of Frigate Captain in the Army, was a deputy in Congress elected by the Christian Democracy for the District of Suchitepéquez, and was linked to the "White Panel" case. The Public Prosecutor's Office charged the former officer with the forced disappearance of 11 people between 1987 and 1988. A photograph shows his image when he was still serving in the Guatemalan Army. (Social Media) The criminal case pending before the Third Criminal Court remained stalled while awaiting the setting of a date for the arraignment of the military officer, now deceased, and the co-defendants Edilberto Letona and Edwin Rolando González. The judiciary suspended the hearing on multiple occasions due to the lack of a courtroom with the physical capacity to accommodate the number of defense attorneys, plaintiffs, and prosecutorial staff assigned to the case. The municipality of his hometown mourned the death of the retired military officer. (Municipality of San Antonio Suchitepéquez) With the death of Domínguez de León in his native San Antonio Suchitepéquez, where the family organized the funeral rites prior to burial in the local cemetery, the criminal prosecution against him is extinguished without the courts having issued a ruling on the merits. The judicial process remains open exclusively against the other two retired military officers who await the resolution of their procedural status. The vehicle known as the White Panel represented a symbol of state terror in Guatemala. Documents from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and investigations by the MP determined that government agents dressed in civilian clothes or wearing Guardia de Hacienda insignia captured victims in public streets to force them into vans without license plates. The reports of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights detailed the state's use of the White Panel vehicle in kidnapping operations. (Prensa Libre) Forensic expert reports presented before international justice confirmed that the victims suffered stab wounds, throat slitting, and continuous physical torture before their executioners abandoned the bodies in ravines and avenues. Those who survived the transfers testified that their captors took them bound to police facilities and military installations to subject them to psychological aggression and cruel treatment in order to obtain involuntary confessions. Since 1987 the White Panel case has been the subject of criminal investigation. (Military Diary) The use of these units was also revealed in the file of the Military Diary, aired before High Risk Court B. Testimonial statements by former army drivers confirmed that the white Toyota van belonged to the Intelligence Directorate of the National Defense General Staff and was kept in official parking facilities. Retired military officer Clodoveo Domínguez de León died in Suchitepéquez before appearing at his first court hearing. (Social Media) A witness recounted in court that upon approaching the panel he observed blood coagulations of about five centimeters on the floor, which the cleaning staff removed with a bucket. According to the accusation, those detained on suspicion of union activity, including Rubén Amílcar Farfán, ended up confined in a bunker of the former Polytechnic School before their clandestine execution.