As Guatemala pursues war criminals, a dark secret emerges: Some suspects living quiet lives in US
As Guatemala pursues war criminals, a dark secret emerges: Some suspects living quiet lives in US
By KEVIN SIEFF | The Washington Post | Published: December 27, 2019
For years, Francisco Cuxum Alvarado lived a quiet life outside Boston, working as a landscaper, part of a large and well-regarded local Guatemalan community.
But authorities say Cuxum Alvarado had a dark secret. During Guatemala's civil war, he told investigators, he was a member of a civilian militia that allegedly raped and killed hundreds of indigenous Guatemalans. He was wanted in connection with multiple war crimes in his homeland.
Cuxum Alvarado pleaded guilty to entering the United States illegally and was sentenced last week to six months in prison. After he has served his sentence, he is expected to be extradited to Guatemala for a trial. The discovery that Cuxum Alvarado had been living openly in the middle-class town of Waltham, Massachusetts, also underscored a troubling challenge in Guatemala's search for justice: Many of the war's greatest alleged offenders have found impunity for decades in the United States.
"They go from mass murderers to these typical immigrant jobs," said Jo-Marie Burt, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America who has spent years studying the aftermath of Guatemala's 36-year civil war.
Juan Alecio Samayoa Cabrera, a resident of Providence, Rhode Island, was turned over to Guatemalan authorities in November. He had been working as a landscaper in Providence since the 1990s. But during the civil war, he was a major paramilitary leader. Guatemala's top human rights prosecutor called him "a very bloodthirsty person with a great level of cruelty - given the way he killed his victims." One of his alleged victims' daughters recognized him at a Providence Walgreens. His trial is scheduled to begin in Guatemala in January.
More:
https://www.stripes.com/news/americas/as-guatemala-pursues-war-criminals-a-dark-secret-emerges-some-suspects-living-quiet-lives-in-us-1.612713
Francisco Cuxum Alvarado
Guatemalan War Criminal Found Living ‘Unremarkable Life’ in Massachusetts
Francisco Cuxum Alvarado has been accused of playing a role in a massacre and mass sexual assault in his native Guatemala in the early 1980s
By Caroline Connolly • Published December 20, 2019 • Updated at 4:50 am on December 21, 2019
Story:
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/guatemalan-war-criminal-found-living-unremarkable-life-in-waltham/2201677/
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Providence man accused of torture in Guatemala is deported
By Amanda Milkovits Globe Staff,November 29, 2019, 3:13 p.m.
Juan Alecio Samayoa Cabrera, a Providence resident, was turned over to Guatemalan authorities on Wednesday. US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
PROVIDENCE — A Providence man accused of leading a paramilitary unit in Guatemala that tortured and murdered dozens of indigenous Mayans in the 1980s was deported Wednesday to face prosecution.
. . .
Despite being rejected and ordered deported years ago, Samayoa fought to remain — arguing that he would face torture, not justice, in his native country.
More:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/rhode-island/2019/11/29/providence-man-accused-torture-guatemala-deported/quCWgTJQxDvTS3lGx1D5yM/story.html
