PASACO, 1996

Dates

2018 - 2021
Author

Luis Corzo
Topics Portrait, Social Issues, War & Conflicts

PASACO, 1996 is an investigative photography project that revisits a kidnapping that occurred in Guatemala in the year 1996.

(Guatemala City, Guatemala) On the 18th of April, 1996, my father and I were abducted from our home and held captive for thirty-three days by an organized crime group known as “Los Pasaco”. In the early 90s, “Los Pasaco” were the most feared and notorious group of criminals in the country. During this captivity, my father was physically tortured and eventually had his left ring finger amputated and sent to my grandfather to pressure him into sending more money for ransom. Eventually, my father was released on the 30th day and told to gather more ransom money in order to have me released. Three days later, I was released in the small town of Chiquimulilla, Santa Rosa.

PASACO, 1996 is an investigative photography project that revisits this act. The project contains recuperated documents/ media of the time, as well as new documentation of locations, people, and objects that took part in the act. The main objective of this project is to initiate conversations surrounding the story; those of violence, corruption, capital punishment and criminal rehabilitation.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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01 + 03 Pasaco, Jutiapa Pasaco is a municipality in the Jutiapa department in southeastern Guatemala (on the border with El Salvador). The current population of Pasaco is approximately 1,800 people. The primary economic sources in Pasaco are agriculture, livestock, and small industries, such as the fabrication of brick. This town is also the namesake of the group “Los Pasaco”, a notorious organized crime group mostly known for kidnappings for ransom in the 1990s.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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01 + 03 Pasaco, Jutiapa Pasaco is a municipality in the Jutiapa department in southeastern Guatemala (on the border with El Salvador). The current population of Pasaco is approximately 1,800 people. The primary economic sources in Pasaco are agriculture, livestock, and small industries, such as the fabrication of brick. This town is also the namesake of the group “Los Pasaco”, a notorious organized crime group mostly known for kidnappings for ransom in the 1990s.

© Luis Corzo - 05 Maria Spillari The abductees’ wife/mother.

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05 Maria Spillari The abductees’ wife/mother.

© Luis Corzo - 14 Advisor for negotiations with the abductors appointed by the government Asked to remain anonymous.

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14 Advisor for negotiations with the abductors appointed by the government Asked to remain anonymous.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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15 Second location of captivity After about a week and a half, the abductors decided to move the operation into a mountain range in southern Guatemala. In the wee hours of daybreak, the abductees were put into the back of separate vans and driven about an hour and a half south. At the end of the journey, they were forced to hike up a mountain and sleep buried in the soil up to their heads. The next day, they were transferred to a small hut made of aluminum and wood.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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20 Juan Corzo, Jr.’s left hand After about three weeks into the kidnapping, Juan Corzo, Jr.’s left ring finger was amputated. Juan’s finger was put in a small plastic container and left inside a toilet in the men’s bathroom of Pollo Campero.

© Luis Corzo - 21 Carlos Corzo The abductees’ brother/uncle.

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21 Carlos Corzo The abductees’ brother/uncle.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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23 Proof of life 05 Two proof-of-life polaroid pictures were left behind a toilet in a bathroom of Pollo Campero. The images show both abductees blindfolded. Juan appears holding the day’s newspaper with his left hand missing his ring finger.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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25 Hotel Sarita, Escuintla A hotel located in the Escuintla department, about one and a half hours south of Guatemala City. As a child, Juan Corzo, Jr. and his family lived near this hotel for many years and visited frequently. He and his siblings even learned how to swim at this very pool. On the 18th of May, 1996, Juan was released from the abduction and coincidentally left at the front door of this hotel. He immediately managed to contact his family to pick him up.

© Luis Corzo - 26 Audio cassettes Audio cassettes that contain all of the calls between the Corzo family and the abductors.

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26 Audio cassettes Audio cassettes that contain all of the calls between the Corzo family and the abductors.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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27 Abelisario Santos Longtime family friend and employee of the family business. Abelisario volunteered to make the first and third deliveries of the ransom money. The first ransom delivery was about two weeks into the abduction. Abelisario was instructed by the abductors to bring a large backpack full of cash and drive a small motorcycle down to Lago Amatitlán (about 40 minutes south of Guatemala City), at around 2:00 am. At the midpoint of the trajectory, he was intercepted by the abductors. He was forcefully stopped in the middle of the CA-9 highway, brought down and brutally beaten. The abductors took the backpack and fled. This portrait was taken at the precise location where he was stopped on that rainy morning.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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28 Estación de bomberos voluntarios de Chiquimulilla, Santa Rosa On May 21st, 1996, Luis Corzo was released in the small town of Chiquimulilla, Santa Rosa. At around 6:00 pm he was driven down from the mountains on a gray pick up truck, blindfolded. Once they arrived in the town, Luis was instructed to look out the window and not at them; otherwise, he would be killed. He was given a small piece of paper with his name and his grandfather’s (Juan Corzo, Sr.) home phone number. Before getting off, the blindfold was removed, and they indicated he walk away from the car and not to look back. He followed their instructions and eventually reached the volunteer firefighter’s station of Chiquimulilla. After explaining that he was just released from an abduction, the firefighters hurried to call his family. Astoundingly, there was no telephone at the station so they walked over to a neighbor’s house and were able to place the call. Shortly after, one of the firefighters volunteered to drive Luis back to the volunteer firefighter’s central station in Guatemala City, which was about two hours away. He was picked up by some family members, including his mother, Maria Spillari.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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30 Corzo family picture A photograph of Luis and Juan Corzo, Jr. (both abductees) with some family members the day after Luis’ release.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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31 Q.1,000 A few months later, the Guatemalan police unit captured some members of “Los Pasaco”. Juan Corzo, Sr. was contacted by a group of police officers who offered to assassinate the kidnappers on the spot for 1,000 Guatemalan Quetzales each (equivalent to approximately 130 USD) and evade trial. Juan Corzo, Sr. strongly declined the offer and he and the family decided to proceed with the criminal trial.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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32 Luis Corzo’s bulletproof vest The trial against 11 members of “Los Pasaco”, for this and other crimes, began in early 1998. Initially, Luis Corzo was set to attend the trial and this bulletproof vest was provided for his protection. However, it was later reconsidered, as it would have been extremely dangerous for him to attend. He ended up never wearing the vest.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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33 Juan Corzo, Sr.’s office For his protection, he has installed various panic rooms and escape routes in his home and office.

© Luis Corzo - Image from the PASACO, 1996 photography project

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41 José Luis Barahona Castillo José Luis was the leader of the group responsible for the abduction of Juan Corzo, Jr. and Luis Corzo. Years later, in March 2019, Luis Corzo received a tip (from a source that wishes to remain anonymous) that José Luis Barahona Castillo’s brother, Walter, was incarcerated in “the Little Hell”. On March 10, 2019, Luis visited Granja de Alta Seguridad Canadá, “el Infiernito”. He was forced to bribe two officers for a total of 55 Quetzales (which is equivalent to 7 USD) in order to enter the jail. As he entered, Luis was stunned to find out that Walter was no longer housed in the prison; instead, the leader himself, Jose Luis Barahona Castillo was there in the prison. With the help of another inmate, Luis was able to locate him. José Luis owns a small shop where he sells soda and snacks in the back part of the prison. Next to his small shop, he had set up a small table with two chairs. José Luis offered Luis Corzo a Coca-Cola. They sat there and spoke for nearly an hour.

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