By: Daniel Nardini
The Spanish authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for former Guatemalan general Jorge Orantes Sosa, Jr. He is wanted for the mass murder of 251 men, women and children in the village of Dos Erres in 1982. At present Sosa is being held in jail in Canada. He had fled Guatemala for the United States, but then fled to Canada. He remains in jail pending extradition procedures to Spain.
Sosa was part of an elite Guatemalan military unit that was part of a genocidal process mostly against the Mayan peoples being waged by former Guatemalan President Efrain Rios Montt. Montt, a former general himself, came to power in a military coup in 1982. Considering how many coups Guatemala had between 1954 and 1982, this one was not unique. What was unique is what Montt would do. He waged a merciless and indiscriminate campaign of mass murder against any and all who opposed him. This campaign targeted the Mayan people in Guatemala in particular since Montt believed, erroneously, that they especially were giving aid and comfort to the left-wing guerrillas.
Guatemalan military units like Sosa’s went from village to village and either decimated or killed their inhabitants altogether. It is estimated that Montt’s campaign killed 300,000 people—mostly Mayans. There was no question that this campaign was an act of genocide—the whole campaign primarily targeted Mayans simply because they were Mayans. Eventually Montt himself was overthrown in a bloodless coup—the people and ruling elites had tired of his bloody mass-murder campaign. Since then many of those responsible for carrying out the genocide have been hunted down by the Spanish authorities. Ironically the architect of the genocide itself, Montt, remains free in Guatemala. Worse than free, he is running for president of Guatemala.
Wanted for Genocide in Guatemala
By: Daniel Nardini
The Spanish authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for former Guatemalan general Jorge Orantes Sosa, Jr. He is wanted for the mass murder of 251 men, women and children in the village of Dos Erres in 1982. At present Sosa is being held in jail in Canada. He had fled Guatemala for the United States, but then fled to Canada. He remains in jail pending extradition procedures to Spain.
Sosa was part of an elite Guatemalan military unit that was part of a genocidal process mostly against the Mayan peoples being waged by former Guatemalan President Efrain Rios Montt. Montt, a former general himself, came to power in a military coup in 1982. Considering how many coups Guatemala had between 1954 and 1982, this one was not unique. What was unique is what Montt would do. He waged a merciless and indiscriminate campaign of mass murder against any and all who opposed him. This campaign targeted the Mayan people in Guatemala in particular since Montt believed, erroneously, that they especially were giving aid and comfort to the left-wing guerrillas.
Guatemalan military units like Sosa’s went from village to village and either decimated or killed their inhabitants altogether. It is estimated that Montt’s campaign killed 300,000 people—mostly Mayans. There was no question that this campaign was an act of genocide—the whole campaign primarily targeted Mayans simply because they were Mayans. Eventually Montt himself was overthrown in a bloodless coup—the people and ruling elites had tired of his bloody mass-murder campaign. Since then many of those responsible for carrying out the genocide have been hunted down by the Spanish authorities. Ironically the architect of the genocide itself, Montt, remains free in Guatemala. Worse than free, he is running for president of Guatemala.