The case of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiza 19-year-old girl became a symbol of the deficiencies of the justice system in Guatemala in the investigation of femicides.
His disappearance and murder, which occurred in August 2005, revealed deficiencies from the first hours of the search to the handling of the crime scene.
Based on international reports and testimonies, it is possible to reconstruct their last steps and understand how the institutional response marked the direction of the investigation.
Who was Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz?
Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz was a student of fourth semester of Law at the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (Usac).
According to testimonies collected at the time and cited in international reports, she was described by her family as an active young woman, with a social life, who combined her studies with daily activities, such as meetings with friends.
According to his father’s testimony, Jorge Rolando Velásquez Duránincluded in the report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)the night of his disappearance, was a Friday, and like any young man he had attended a meeting in the Panorama neighborhood, in Mixco. During that night he maintained communication with his parents and his brother, whom he informed about his location and his intention to return home.
For its part, Claudina Paiz de Velásquez, her mother, said in a television interview that Claudina had the desire to start a family and have four children, a life project that was cut short on the night of August 12, 2005.
To date, the full details of the crime remain under judicial confidentiality. Nevertheless, Free press compiled key facts and testimonies from the report of the IACHRwhich allow us to reconstruct his last steps and the events that marked his disappearance and murder.
The day of his disappearance
He August 12, 2005Claudine He left his house heading to the university in the morning.
Later, he informed his family that he was in a party in the Panorama neighborhood, zone 8 of Mixcoand that he would return at midnight.
The last communication with his relatives occurred around 11.45pm
A key element in the hours after disappearance of Claudina Velásquez Paiz was the testimony of Zully Moreno Barbierwho reported that, around 1.30am on August 13, he called the young woman’s cell phone while trying to locate her son, Pedro Julio Samayoa Moreno. Instead of establishing communication, she claimed to have heard desperate screams saying: “No, no, no!”, which led her to notice that Claudina was in a dangerous situation.
Alarmed, Moreno came to the residence of the Velásquez Paiz family around 2amwhich motivated the parents to begin an immediate search and try to involve the authorities. However, as was later evident, the institutional response was late and insufficient.
Velásquez Paiz’s parents, accompanied by Moreno, went to the place where the party was taking place with the intention of locating it.
However, upon arriving at the sector checkpoint, Moreno indicated that her son was already at home and that he had called her crying, so He decided to leave the place around 3am. Even so, he stated that he would continue the search for Claudina in ravines and vacant lands during his return journey.
Pedro Samayoa and his relationship with the Claudina Velásquez case
The testimony of Pedro Julio Samayoa Morenowho indicated that, around 12:30am, Claudina Velásquez Paiz She left the party alone and said she was going home.
The document does not specify whether the young woman was traveling in her own vehicle or what means of transportation she used, nor does it clarify the relationship between the two.
In this way, Pedro Samayoa and his family environment appear as the last people who had contact and communication with Claudina Velásquez Paiz before his disappearance.
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Ignored complaints
During the early hours of August 13, the family tried to report the disappearance to the National Civil Police (PNC) on several occasions. According to the report:
- At 3amthere was a first police intervention, they arrived at the colony’s sentry box where the party had taken place, but they left when they arrived.
- At 5amthere was a second attempt, also without success.
- At 8.30amthe complaint was finally formalized, although only a bulletin was filled out without effective follow-up.
In all cases, the agents insisted on waiting 24 hours, a practice contrary to international standards in cases of women’s disappearance.
Finding of the body
While the family continued the search, they were unaware that, at 5am on August 13, The Volunteer Fire Corps received a anonymous report on the discovery of a body in the Roosevelt neighborhood, zone 11.
The body had a gunshot wound to the foreheadsigns of violence and possible signs of sexual assault.
However, the family was not immediately notified. It was until around 11 in the morning when, through an acquaintance, They learned of the existence of a body entered into the morgue as “XX” which matched Claudina’s characteristics.
10 irregularities in the investigation of the Claudina Velásquez case
The case of Claudina Velásquez Paiz documented multiple failures that subsequently supported an international condemnation against the State of Guatemala for investigation negligence and deficiencies in care femicides:
- Lack of a clear record of the discovery of the bodywithout details about who found it or under what circumstances.
- Handling of the corpse before the arrival of forensic authorities, which compromised the integrity of the evidence.
- Improper crime scene handlingwithout the application of basic procedures such as temperature measurement or complete collection of evidence.
- Deficiencies in evidence preservationincluding objects that were not processed for fingerprint analysis.
- Failure to collect key itemswhich contained possible indications of sexual violence.
- Errors and inconsistencies in the necropsywith omissions regarding identification, cause of death and possible signs of sexual assault.
- Incorrect identification in official reportsin which the victim continued to be referred to as “XX” even after being identified.
- Lack of activation of immediate search protocolsdespite early warnings about the disappearance.
- Failure to respond to citizen reportssuch as the failure to send a patrol after a call that alerted at 2am about a possible sexual assault in the area where the body was later located.
- Research without a gender focusmarked by stereotypes such as the hypothesis of a “crime of passion” and questions about the victim’s personal life, which diverted the course of the proceedings.
Recent advances and arrests in the Claudina Velásquez case
Although the case remained under wraps for several years, in 2025 significant progress was made in the investigation of the murder of Claudina Velásquez Paiz.
On June 12, two people were captured, who were subsequently linked to criminal proceedings for their alleged involvement in the crime.
Later, in October of that same year, the judge Abelina Cruzof the High Risk Court D, partially lifted the confidentiality of the file and declared five people linked to the case in absentia, ordering their capture and activating an international search.
He Public Ministry (MP) confirmed on April 21 the capture in the United States of Pedro Julio Samayoa Morenoalong with his mother, Zully Moreno Barbierand his brotherEduardo Alejandro Samayoa Moreno.
The Guatemalan authorities are already coordinating the efforts for his deportation, while the judicial process continues and Other people named in the case are still awaiting trial.