International arrest warrant issued by the Spanish judiciary; arrested in Guatemala on 18 November 2006; extradition refused by the Guatemalan authorities on 14 December 2007; died on 18 February 2008 in Guatemala
Born in 1920, Chupina Barahona attended the Police Academy and subsequently rose through the ranks.
He was sent to the School of the Americas in Panama in 1960. From being police Colonel he rose to become Chief of the National Police in 1978 under the presidency of General Lucas Garcia. (see “Related Cases”) He created a death squadron called “Commando Seis” (Commando Six), which he allegedly led from 1978 to 1982.
He was accused of participatio in the organisation of the attack against the Spanish Embassy in Ciudad Guatemala in 1980.
Chupina Barahona was known for his cruelty, his cynicism and his good relations with both the major local and American industry heads in Guatemala for whom he allegedly organised the physical elimination of trade unionists or student leaders.
He disappeared from the political forestage after the 1982 coup d’état by General Rios Montt (see “Related Cases”).
