Elisabeth Malkin, New York Times – A Guatemalan court on Friday found Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt, the former dictator who ruled Guatemala during one of the bloodiest periods of its long civil war, guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Judge Yasmín Barrios sentenced General Ríos Montt, 86, to 80 years in… read more »
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Archive for the ‘Around the Region Blog’ Category
May 11, 2013 | CDA
New York Times: Former Leader of Guatemala Is Guilty of Genocide Against Mayan Group
May 2, 2013 | Linda Garrett
El Salvador Update: April 2013 / Informe mensual abril 2013
A PDF version of the El Salvador Update is available here. A PDF version of the April 2013 Peacemaking Chronology is available here. Versión en formato PDF aquí. If you would like to receive the Monthly El Salvador Update via email, contact: ElSalvadorUpdate@democracyinamericas.org. Summary: In the midst of political bickering, economic… read more »
April 2, 2013 | Linda Garrett
El Salvador Update: March 2013 / Informe mensual marzo 2013
A PDF version of the El Salvador Update is available here. A PDF version of the March 2013 Peacemaking Chronology is available here. Versión en formato PDF aquí. If you would like to receive the Monthly El Salvador Update via email, contact: ElSalvadorUpdate@democracyinamericas.org. Summary: March was a month of anniversaries in… read more »
March 19, 2013 | Linda Garrett
El Salvador: Who Pays for the Broken Plates?
When peace agreements are signed and the guns are finally silenced, the cries for justice from victims and survivors are often drowned out by demands to “forgive and forget.” After civil war in places like El Salvador, the search for truth is considered, domestically and internationally, as a threat to… read more »
March 15, 2013 | CDA
AULA Blog: “Honduras: Simmering Crisis”
Little good and lots of bad has transpired in Honduras since the night in June 2009 that an Army-backed coup d’état, orchestrated by the economic elites, ousted President Mel Zelaya and installed Roberto Micheletti as the de facto ruler. Almost four years later, Honduras remains one of the places in… read more »
March 4, 2013 | Linda Garrett
El Salvador Update: February 2013 / Informe mensual febrero 2013
It has been nearly a year since El Salvador’s nascent and still-controversial gang truce started. During the night of March 8-9, 2012, under the cover of darkness, gang leaders were transferred from maximum to minimum security prisons, and so began the peace process that continues to this day. Within days, the homicide rate dropped dramatically. As a result, El Salvador is no longer on the list of the world’s most violent counties and security no longer leads the list of Salvadorans’ concerns.
February 27, 2013 | CDA
Héctor Silva Ávalos: La última batalla del general García
José Guillermo García volvió a una corte de la Florida ayer a esperar que el juez Michael Horn decida si lo deporta a El Salvador. El general se encuentra al final de un largo camino legal que inició en 2002, cuando tres víctimas salvadoreñas lo demandaron ante la justicia estadounidense, bajo el precepto legal de la cadena de mando, como responsable último de torturas recibidas a manos de miembros de los cuerpos de seguridad.
February 27, 2013 | CDA
Héctor Silva Ávalos: “¿Por qué permitió que las atrocidades siguieran?”
Por primera vez un militar salvadoreño aceptó en un tribunal la responsabilidad del alto mando del ejército en masacres, asesinatos y violaciones a los derechos humanos cometidos en los primeros años de la guerra civil. En un intenso intercambio con el juez Michael Horn, el general José Guillermo García reconoció que era su responsabilidad evitar esos crímenes, pero, dijo, aceptar eso no implica que él sea culpable.
February 22, 2013 | CDA
Héctor Silva Ávalos: The Battle for Washington
This piece was first published in Spanish in El Faro. Versión en español aquí. The Salvadoran political parties have begun to outline – some with more, some with less depth and resources- their strategies to win Washington’s favor on the way to the 2014 presidential election. In essence, this means… read more »
February 4, 2013 | Linda Garrett
El Salvador Update: January 2013/ Informe mensual enero 2013
January 16th was the 21st anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords that ended El Salvador’s 12-year civil war. Once again, it was a time for reflection on the successes and limitations of the agreement and its implementation. In the context of a very difficult economic and fiscal environment, and the evolving gang truce and peace process, the principal post-war critique from the left remains: despite the Funes Administrations’ efforts to comply with the spirit of that historic document, the fundamental causes of the war – poverty and exclusion – remain. “Peace doesn’t just mean the absence of war,” Vice-President Sánchez Cerén declared, “as long as there is injustice and inequality in the country, there will be violence in the country.”
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