By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Jorge Rafael Videla, a former Argentina dictator who helped to overthrow former President Isabel Martinez de Peron, is on trial for human rights abuses.  The abuses, which date from 1976-1983, include kidnapping and torture.  The trial comes shortly after another former Argentina dictator, Gen. Reynaldo Benito Bignone, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for very similar crimes.

Videla’s reign as dictator, often referred to as the “Dirty War,” was shroud with secret military prisons and torture centers.  It was not uncommon for Videla’s regime to capture leftist students, labor leaders or intellectuals and seclude them in one of these secret holding places.  Some estimate that as many as 30,000 leftists were abducted.

Just days into the trial, Videla, who has previously been found guilty of unrelated human rights abuses and sentenced to life in prison, took responsibility for the military’s actions under his watch.  Speaking to the court, Videla stated “I fully assume my military responsibilities for all the Argentine army’s actions during this internal war.”

Videla is one of about two dozen individuals who face charges stemming from human rights abuses during the “Dirty War” era.  Videla and his codefendants are specifically on trial for the murder of 31 political prisoners who were held captive and then shot to death when they tried to escape.

One attorney stated that there are significant differences between the previous cases against Videla and the present case.  The 31 political prisoners at the center of this case were jailed under the civilian government before Videla’s coup and were then murdered when Videla took power, before the prisoners had a chance to stand trial.

Miguel Ceballos, an attorney representing the victims, has a more personal connection to this trial than most: Ceballos’ father was killed under Videla’s watch.  Ceballos said, “when they came looking for my father at the prison, he knew he would be killed.  He said goodbye to his friends and left a photo of our family so they could tell us what had happened.”

Any added jail time from this trial would mean little to Videla because he is already serving a life sentence; however, a conviction would offer relief to the victim’s friends and family members.  Ceballos stated, “This trial has been a long time coming.  He is having the trial that he denied my father.”

For more information, please see:

Euro News – Former Argentine Dictator Speaks In Court – 6 July 2010

Philly.com – Argentine Ex-dictator Faces Human Rights Charges – 2 July 2010

CNN – Former Argentina Dictator To Go On Trial In Rights Abuse Case – 30 June 2010

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America Desk

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), set up as a joint venture panel between Guatemala and the United Nations to prosecute corrupt officials, could be in jeopardy. The last few weeks reveal that not even the well-intentioned are completely free from political pressures. Escalating pressures within the panel have led its chief, Carlos Castresana, to resign and have resulted in the removal from office of the attorney general, Conrado Reyes.

Problems began in May when the then-new attorney general, Reyes, began to remove prosecutors and investigators working with the CICIG. On June 7, Castresana objected to Reyes’ actions, asserting that Reyes was tied to organized crime — assertions which Reyes denies. Nevertheless, Castresana resigned immediately.

Less than one week later, the Guatemalan high court removed Reyes from office, albeit on the basis that the procedures followed by President Alvaro Colom in selecting Reyes for office had not followed the law. As it turned out, both positions are crucial for the CICIG to work but were both empty.

The UN provided some hope for the project by quickly appointing Francisco Dall’Anese of Costa Rica as the new director of the Panel. Mr. Dall’Anese, as attorney general in Costa Rica, led corruption investigations of two former presidents.

Many Guatemalans believe that the commission is the only bulwark against entrenched power. For this reason, the government remains worried as it continues to struggle to find a replacement attorney general and is concerned as to who will ultimately be picked. The CICIG is clearly having an impact against corruption but the internal strife shows how vulnerable it, itself, is to the same.

Guatemalans believe that no place or person in Guatemala is safe from entrenched power. Two years ago when Vinicio Gomez, the Guatemalan Interior Minister, began investigating drug trafficking, he started receiving death threats. A short time later, his helicopter crashed, killing him. Alba Trejo, Gomez’s widow, has appealed to the CICIG to hear his case. Although in an unofficial capacity, Mr. Castresana nevertheless attended the news conference to support Ms. Trejo and to support Mr. Gomez’s case.

Several similar deaths and killing await investigation but any enquiries remain in limbo as the CICIC muscles its way back onto its feet. Its casework includes other cases of government corruption going back years in Guatemala’s history.

Several former officials, from Defense Ministry officials to ex-President Alfonso Portillo, are accused of embezzlement. Others, such as former police chiefs, are in jail facing drug-related charges whilst still another is charged with running and extortion and hit squad.

Castresana reported that in 2009, only 230 of 6,451 killings were resolved. The fight against impunity in Guatemala remains an enormous job for the CICIG and people like Carlos Castresana.

Nineth Montenegro, an influential congresswoman, stated that “we have a police force that is penetrated… a prosecutor general’s office that is penetrated [and] a president who appears not to see anything.” She added, “In Guatemala, we never know who we are talking to. I have to believe in someone, and I believe in him, in Carlos.”

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Political Struggle Strains Guatemala’s Justice System – 3 July 2010

Americas Quarterly – New CICIG Commissioner Selected in Guatemala – 2 July 2010

Guatemala Times – Carlos Castresana, UN Commissioner Against Impunity in Guatemala Resigns – 8 June 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MEDELLIN, Colombia—Eight people were killed and nine were injured in a massacre in north Colombia.  The attack happened early Friday morning when gunmen opened fire in a nightclub and then fled on motorbikes.  Among the deceased victims was one American, who was a dual U.S.-Colombian citizen.

Two heavily armed men entered a nightclub called “Barubar” in Envigado, part of Medellin’s metropolitan area, around 2 in the morning.  The men fired indiscriminately toward some tables and then escaped while survivors tended to the victims.  Two police agents who had been patrolling the area and responded to the commotion were injured in the attack.

Machine gun and other high-powered gun shells were discovered at the scene.  Secretary of Antioguia, Andres Julian Rendon, said that these types of weapons are commonly used by drug-related gangs.  None of the victims have been linked to a history of gang association, but police are searching for a man who left the scene and may have been the gunmen’s target.

Oscar Naranjo, Colombian National Police Director, said the attack may have been motivated by a turf war between two local drug kingpins known as Sebastian and Valenciano.  In April, the U.S. offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Valenciano’s capture.  The kingpin allegedly moved over $25 million in drug money from the U.S. to Mexico.

Naranjo announced a 200 million peso ($106,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the nightclub violence.  Authorities plan to increase security around Medellin and combat the local drug trade by creating a special inter-agency group.  Naranjo arrived in the area with a team of 20 criminal investigation experts, 400 extra police officers and 200 members of the elite urban control force called FUCUR.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe condemned the acts of the hitmen and said, “The criminal phenomena of narcotrafficking continues with a great capacity to inflict damage.”

Deadly drug-related violence has been on the increase recently in Medellin, which is fast becoming one of the most dangerous cities in Colombia.  This year’s first trimester has seen 503 drug-related deaths, which is up 54.8 percent since last year.

Although production has been decreasing, Colombia currently remains the world’s largest cocaine producer.

For more information, please see:

Wire Update-At least 8 killed, 5 injured, including one American, in Colombian nightclub shooting-3 July 2010

Colombia Reports-$100,000 reward for information on Antioquia massacre-2 July 2010

CNN International-American among 8 killed in Colombia bar attack, police say-2 July 2010

AFP-At least seven dead in Colombian discotheque attack-2 July 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ, Bolivia – At least 28 people were killed, and at least 44 were injured, when a passenger bus drove over the side of a ravine in Bolivia.  The injuries include one child being killed and 16 other children being injured.  According to police, the bus involved was carrying approximately 70 people and was traveling from Cochabamba, a central city, to the southwestern city of Potosi when it drive through a guard rail and fell 11 meters to the ground.

The accident occurred at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday in the Pongo, K’asa area.  Police commander Col. Hernan Trujillo stated that the bus’ brakes had failed causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and plunge into the ravine.

Although Roberto Gandarillas, the bus driver, claimed that he alerted the passengers about the bus’ brake failure and told the passengers to move to the back of the bus, the precautions did not prevent the injuries.  When authorities arrived at the scene of the accident, Gandarillas attempted to flee; however, he was quickly obtained and arrested.  The Bolivian police immediately tested Gandarillas for alcohol, fearing that he may have been intoxicated, but the test results have not yet been returned.

Officials also fear that the bus may have been overloaded because the bus was only equipped to hold 45 passengers.  The bus’ passengers told local authorities that Gandrillas was speeding as the time of the accident.

This accident comes only days after a separate bus accident on the same highway claimed the lives of 13 people and injured 37 others.

Leticia Costa, a passenger on the bus who was injured, remembered that she was sleeping, but woke up “when passengers began screaming at the driver to stop.”  “He accelerated even more and in one of the turns we went off the side of the road and bus hurled over the side,” Costa said.

Accidents such as this are not uncommon on the Andean region and generally involve unregulated buses traveling too quickly on poorly maintained roads.

For more information, please see:

Big Pond News – Bolivia Bus Crash Kills At Least 25 – 29 June 2010

Hindustian Times – 13 Dead in Bolivia Bus Crash – 28 June 2010

Thaindian News – 28 Dead, 44 Hurt In Bolivia Bus Accident – 28 June 2010

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombian gunmen have claimed the life of yet another trade union member, the latest casualty in a string of murders attributed to conflicts between paramilitary and guerilla groups.

Last week, union member, Nelson Camacho González, was gunned down by guerillas on motorbikes as he waited for the bus to go to work at 5:30am.  Nelson is the 31^st trade union worker to be murdered this year in Colombia.  Despite government efforts to decrease paramilitary violence and harassment, this is just another instance indicating that those efforts are ineffective.

Indeed, since the murder, paramilitary groups have continued to send death threats to other human rights defenders and social activists – a sign that these armed groups are still a real threat against those who support the country’s laborers, especially the poor, against poor working conditions, facilities, and related workers’ benefits.  Human rights activists are therefore calling the Colombian government to take further action to curb such acts and have even appealed to the U.S. government to support Colombia’s Constitutional Court.

Paramilitary groups are no strangers to Colombia’s internal conflicts.  In fact, they play a crucial role in keeping those conflicts alive.  Throughout the country’s history these groups have, either alone or in collaboration with Colombian security forces, labeled human rights organizations, trade unions, and other social organizations as guerilla supporters.

Similarly, guerilla groups are weary of human rights activists who they fear support or merely concede to paramilitary groups.  Indeed, guerilla groups have, themselves, sent threats and have committed inhumane acts against activists considered to be siding with paramilitary groups

Thus, it is no surprise that this distrust and hatred between paramilitary and guerilla groups and their respective “supporters” has led to crimes against humanity committed against defenseless human rights organizations, trade unions, and other social organizations caught in the middle of the conflict.

Paramilitary groups view human rights organizations, trade unions, and other social organizations as barriers to achieving paramilitary and related governmental goals. Indeed, many members of such groups are victimized simply for union association.

Marco Romero of the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement, addressed the Washington Office on Latin America earlier this month to raise awareness of targeted groups and activist groups.  He aimed to increase support for a U.S. Resolution supporting Colombia’s Constitutional Court.

For more information, please see:

Trade Unions North International – Yet More Death Threats Against Human Rights Organisations In South-West Colombia – 28 June 2010

Amnesty International – Colombia: Further Information: Trade Unionist Killed, Many More At Risk: Nelson Camacho González – 23 June 2010

Trade Unions North International – Yet Another Trade Unionist Murdered in Colombia – 21 June 2010

Latin America News Dispatch – WOLA Announces Second Death Threat From Colombian Paramilitaries For Working With Displaced Peoples – 18 June 2010