Former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt has been found guilty & is sentenced to 80 years in jail for genocide & war crimes. Because he is a sociopath bereft of human conscience & still expects his pals in government to spring him out, he was serene at the reading of the verdict. But the courtroom erupted in applause & jubiliation.
There is still legal wrangling going on about jurisdiction, with a judge still trying to make this trial null & void, but this is a victory & vindication for the victims, their families, & supporters who have fought for 30 years to make Rios Montt face the music for his monstrous & unspeakable crimes against the Mayan people. The judge ordered Rios Montt arrested & immediately delivered to jail.
Rios Montt will certainly appeal the ruling & questions remain about this proceeding since it is a 3-judge tribunal to decide whether Rios Montt should be prosecuted or exonerated. But the questions should not mute our elation that this monster has been condemned & the victims vindicated in a court of law. Eighty years isn't enough but it aint over yet!
(Photo of Rios Montt in front of a collage of victims disappeared during his genocidal rampage by Gabriela Alvarez Castaneda)
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