14 DAY TRIAL // In the town of Tactic in the Guatemalan in Alta Verapaz region, justice is served by vigilantes rather than officials. 35-year-old Julio Saquil was burned to death in what seemed to be a witch hunt.
Guatemala Interior minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla stated that Julio Saquil had been seen entering the school after having consumed large quantities of alcohol. Local police officers have testified to the man having previous problems with drug abuse and violence, having started rows before, the Daily Mail reports.
8-year-old Evelyn Yanisa Saquij Bin and 13-year-old Juan Armando Coy Cal were the unfortunate victims of the man's cruel and horrifying attack. The girl was killed on the spot with a machete, and the little boy's head was severed completely by the enraged man.
“He walked into one of the classrooms and assaulted the students, completely beheading a 13-year-old boy and slitting the throat of an 8-year-old girl with a machete,” local firefighter Wilson Cahuec said.
The incident happened swiftly, before anyone could intervene, and the young, defenseless victims were found wounded, as if they had tried to fight off their attacker.
The teachers of the two children, along with family member and other residents of Tactic, decided to take revenge by engaging in the lynching of Julio Saquil. The mob set fire to the man on the same school patio where he had committed unthinkable acts just a few days before.
According to the Guatemalan human rights agency, a staggering 234 attempted lynchings took place in the country last year, of which 40 were actually successful. The ones that weren't were stopped by the arrival of police officers at the scene.
In the past, the locals' quest for justice led to other violent attacks. Punishment in Guatemala involves tying up, cutting, punching and kicking wrong-doers.