Socos Massacre

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The Socos massacre, or Soccos massacre (Spanish: masacre de Socos) occurred on November 13, 1983, when a group of Sinchis of the Peruvian Civil Guard in a state of drunkenness,[1][2] led by Lieutenant Luis Alberto Dávila Reátegui,[3] killed 32 people from the town of Socos, in the Department of Ayacucho, during the Peruvian conflict.

Background[edit]

Because of municipal elections being held in 1983, on August 27 of that year, a detachment of the Civil Guard was deployed in Socos under the command of Luis Dávila Reátegui. The elections, where the Popular Action candidate won, were scheduled for November 13, taking place normally.[4]

Events[edit]

On the night of November 13,[4] in the house of Alejandro Zamora Cárdenas, there was a celebration for the engagement of Zamora's daughter, Maximiliana with Adilberto Quispe Janampa.[5] As part of the celebration, partygoers partook in food and drinks.[1] Previously, the lieutenant governor of Socos had requested authorization from the Civil Guard for the event, and it was granted[2] Zamora's house was only 200 meters from the local Civil Guard station.[1]

During the celebration, the lieutenant governor drunkenly said in Quechua: "These sinchis are thieves, yesterday they ate the community beef. They are abusive, one day we will throw them away...". The sinchis, who were also drunk, asked Mario Jeri Gavilán to translate what the lieutenant governor said.[2] After this, a group of the Civil Guard entered the house with their faces covered and carrying weapons. The officers ordered the residents to return to their homes, but they were intoxicated. Saturnina Sulca Noa, the governor's wife, rebuked them for their behavior and accused them of carrying out acts against the population. Then, the sinchis requested documents, while at the same time firing shots into the air. Ordering the guests to go out into the streets, the residents were made to walk towards Quebrada de Balcón. Before reaching the ravine, they stopped in Allpa Mayo where they separated the young women and sexually abused them. Upon reaching the ravine, the residents, including children, were killed with machine gun bursts. Then, they grouped the corpses together and detonated grenades so that the bodies would be covered by earth.[1][6] The civil guards later declared that they had heard Sendero slogans during the party, which is why they detained those in attendance.

The only witness of the massacre (María Cárdenas) was able to save herself because she went unnoticed after she fell into a well. After emerging from her hiding place, she recounted what had happened. Upon hearing what had happened, Victoria Cueto and Vicente Quispe Flores organized the population and went to the police to report the incident; however, Cueto and Quispe were later murdered. The crime was attributed to a Shining Path commando[2] because after the murder they shouted Shining Path slogans, but witnesses stated that the hooded men were wearing military boots.[6]

Judicial process[edit]

On February 8, 1984, criminal proceedings were opened by the First Court of Huamanga for qualified homicide and attempted homicide, and on July 15, 1986, eleven defendants were convicted, including six Sinchis, for the murder and attempted murder of the 32 residents of Socos, while 15 defendants were acquitted. The defendants were sentenced between 10 and 25 years in prison, but the first was released on December 1, 1988, and the last on June 17, 1991 (on conditional release). Civil Guard Lieutenant Luis Alberto Dávila Reátegui, sentenced to no less than 25 years in prison, was conditionally released on April 5, 1991.

After the amnesty law enacted by the Fujimori government in 1995, those responsible for the massacre took advantage of the measure and were granted amnesty.[7]

In popular culture[edit]

Peruvian director Francisco Lombardi based his 1988 film The Mouth of the Wolf on this massacre.[8][9][10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Ejecuciones extrajudiciales en Socos (1983)" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c d Huerta, Domingo (28 December 1983). "Soccos: una matanza que no debe quedar impune". El Observador. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  3. ^ adminpucp (2019-11-11). "Recordando la Masacre en Socos: juicios sin penas". IDEHPUCP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  4. ^ a b "Nota informativa Nº 1208-R" (PDF).
  5. ^ "INFORMACION SOBRE LA INTERVENCION DE PERSONAL GC EN LA LOCALIDAD DE SOCOS" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b "Caso: Soccos. Testimonio de Prudencia Janampa de Cueto" (vídeo). LUM | Centro de Documentación e Investigación (in Spanish). 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  7. ^ "'La Boca del Lobo'" (in Spanish). trome.pe. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  8. ^ "LUM presenta película peruana "La boca del lobo"" (in Spanish). TV Perú. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  9. ^ Castillo, Luciano (1 January 1994). Con la locura de los sentidos: entrevistas a cineastas latinoamericanos (in Spanish). Colección Artesiete. ISBN 978-950-43-5519-9. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  10. ^ Barrow, Sarah (30 March 2018). Contemporary Peruvian Cinema: History, Identity and Violence on Screen. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781838608217. Retrieved 9 May 2019.

Bibliography[edit]

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