The Court of greatest Risk B will be in charge of the trial against the former Subjector of the National Civil Police (PNC) Eddy Leonel Vásquez Rabanales and the exagent Jeremiah Jacobo Rojas, after Judge Eduardo Orozco, head of the Court of greatest risk B, resolved to send them to debate for the death of a Guatemalan and a Canadian occurred in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango.
Vásquez Rabanales will face a trial for extrajudicial execution because, according to the judge, there is the probability that he is responsible for ordering the crime against Milton Nelson Santamaría and Eldin Leonel Choc XI.
The investigation indicates that the victims were in a store in San Andrés Itzapa when they were captured by a group of police.
A witness declared before the Public Ministry (MP) that both detainees ingested alcoholic beverages without disturbing the neighbors, and that, subsequently, PNC agents arrived and, without apparent reason, proceeded to the apprehension of Santamaría and Choc XI.
Jeremiah Jacobo Rojas will be judged for abuse of authority, breach of duties and denial of help.
Initially, it was indicated by extrajudicial execution; However, Judge Orozco indicated that, according to the investigation, he did not participate directly in the events that derived in the death of the two people, but he would have omitted auxiliary to the victims.
The facts
On April 18, 2024, Milton Santamaría, of Canadian nationality, and Eldin Leonel Choc XI, Guatemalteco, were captured and transferred to the police headquarters of San Andrés Itzapa.
A witness reported that, upon arriving at the scene, Vásquez Rabanales violently insulted the victims in a denigrating, humiliating and homophobic way. He, along with other agents, submitted them and, with excessive use of force, hit them with punches and kicks in different parts of the body, in addition to authorizing other police to do the same.
Judge Eduardo Orozco referred to some facts that are indicated against him: “He gave his authorization and acquiescence so that Mr. Fredy Santiago Velásquez and Mauricio Abraham hit the victims without having the possibility of defending themselves, since they were swelling with their hands back, and that, despite the cries, shouts of pain and pleas, they left them hurt,” said the judge. to the facts imputed to Vásquez Rabanales by the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office.
The judge continued with the reading of the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry: “They continued to hit them to deprive Mr. Milton Nelson Santamaría, this as a result of the rupture of the abdominal aorta artery.” According to the investigation, when they noticed his death, they called the Firefighters to transfer him to the National Hospital of Chimaltenango, with whom they would have agreed to simulate that the victim died before his entrance to the health center and not at the police headquarters.
Regarding the death of the Guatemalan Eldin Leonel Choc XI, the investigation refers that, when he noticed the death of Santamaría, the exsubinspector would have planned with other agents to kill Choc XI, being witnessing the facts.
The investigations detail that they used the Vásquez Rabanales vehicle to move to Choc from the police headquarters to a dirt road in the direction of the municipality of San Miguel Dueñas, Sacatepéquez.
Choc’s body was located six days later. Forensic used the Minnesota protocol to determine the cause of death.
“The protocol establishes that the death of Mr. Choc XI is due to asphyxiation of strangulation,” said the judge by reading the accusation raised by the MP.
According to the Public Ministry, Choc XI would have been tortured before his death and, later, thrown into a ravine. It was determined that plastic tape was used to cause death, in addition to the blows he had received at the time of his capture.
Judge Eduardo Orozco scheduled for July 10 the trial offer hearing. This will know the date on which the trial will begin against the plundering.
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