Former police chief convicted in Guatemala

On Monday, a Guatemalan court found former police chief Pedro Garcia Arredondo guilty of murder, attempted murder, and crimes against humanity in the deaths of 37 people at the Spanish Embassy, including Rigoberta Menchu's father, Vicente, on January 31, 1980. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for their murders.

In addition, the former police chief was found guilty and sentenced to another 50 years in prison for the murders of two students. As I mentioned previously, I thought that Garcia Arredondo would only be convicted if there was some paper trail that linked him to the fire.

For those following the Spanish Embassy trial in Guate, Ch. 5 of my book describes some of Pedro García Arredondo's crimes in detail...
— Kirsten Weld (@kirstenweld) January 19, 2015

Turns out that there was. Go buy Kirsten Weld's Paper Cadavers: The Archives of Dictatorship in Guatemala.

Again, it is impressive that human rights trials have continued with a president and attorney general opposed to their existence. While forces seem to have successfully mobilized to undermine the Rios Montt trial, they have been unsuccessful, or unconcerned, with those already underway that have targeted lower-level officials.