Information on the penalties prescribed by law for desertion from the armed forces could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

Please find attached two articles that contain the only recent (1989-1993) references to armed forces deserters that could be found among the available sources.

The attached report from This Week refers to a soldier who was allegedly kidnapped by guerrillas, and upon his release received protection from the Roman Catholic Church. The armed forces reportedly regarded him as a deserter and demanded that he be handed over for prosecution.

The attached article from Central America Report refers to a man who was killed one month after deserting from the air force. Although the mother of the victim reportedly stated that one of the killers claimed to have been sent by the authorities, the article does not provide conclusive information on who authored the killing or what their motives might be.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

Central America Report [Guatemala]. 16 June 1989. "Violence Common...How Much is Political?," pp. 180-181.

This Week: Central America and Panama [Guatemala]. 14 August 1989. "Serving the Fatherland," p. 243.