Latin America Archives - Page 402 of 497

Ríos Montt Guilty of Genocide: Are Guatemalan President Pérez Molina, US Officials Next?

The ruling marks the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide in his own country. The judge in the case has instructed prosecutors to launch an immediate investigation of “all others” connected to the crimes. Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina was among those implicated during the trial’s testimony after having served as a regional commander under Ríos Montt’s regime.

Rios Montt Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison

Guatemala’s former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, was sentenced Friday to 80 years in prison on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The judgment was divided into 50 years for genocide and 36 years for crimes against humanity

Despite Evidence of Massacres, Former Guatemalan Dictator Proclaims Innocence at Genocide Trial

A verdict is expected as early as today in the historic trial against U.S.-backed Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, the first head of state in the Americas to stand trial for genocide. He is charged with overseeing the slaughter of more than 1,700 people in Guatemala’s Mayan region after he seized power in 1982.

Eduardo Galeano, Chronicler of Latin America’s “Open Veins,” on His New Book “Children of the Days”

One of Latin America’s most acclaimed writers, Eduardo Galeano is out with the new book, “Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History.” Galeano’s classic “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent” made headlines when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez gave President Obama a copy at the Summit of the Americas in 2009.

“Over the Line”: U.S. Agents Shooting Dead Innocent Mexicans Across the Border With Impunity

A joint investigation by the Washington Monthly and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute has found over the past five years U.S. border agents have shot across the border at least 10 times, killing a total of six Mexicans on Mexican soil. The killings have gone unpunished after a court ruled the Mexican victims have no standing to sue in U.S. courts since they died on their own soil.

Cuba-Brazil a Growing Relationship

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff received Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla Monday afternoon at the Planalto Palace. Coinciding with the Cuban’s visit to Brasilia, President Raul Castro welcomed, but in Havana, Fernando Pimentel, Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.

Cuba to Send 6,000 Doctors to Brazil

Some 6,000 Cuban doctors will soon travel to Brazil to work in poor areas with a precarious health situation, the two governments decided today in Brasilia, reported DPA news. The negotiation of the agreement, carried out with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

FAO Congratulates Fidel Castro for Reducing Hunger in Cuba

The head of the UN Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO), José Graziano, congratulated Cuban leader Fidel Castro in a letter for the reduction of hunger on the island. Cuba has met the 2015 target of halving the number of people suffering from hunger, wrote Graziano.

Assata Shakur in Her Own Words

The FBI has added the former Black Panther Assata Shakur to its Most Wanted Terrorists list 40 years after the killing for which she was convicted. Born Joanne Chesimard, Shakur was found guilty of shooting dead a New Jersey state trooper during a gunfight in 1973. Shakur has long proclaimed her innocence and accused federal authorities of political persecution.She escaped from prison in 1979 and received political asylum in Cuba.

Capriles Makes Official His Challenge of Venezuelan Elections

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski filed legal recourse on Thursday to challenge the country’s recent presidential elections, narrowly won by Nicolas Maduro on April 14. The aim of the motion is to have the results of these elections declared null and secure new elections, Capriles’ attorneys explained.