Former Guatemalan Soldier Receives Maximum Sentence For Role in 1982 Massacre

By Erica Laster

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

FORT LAUDERDALE, United States – Former Guatemalan soldier Gilberto Jordan received the maximum sentence possible for lying on United States citizenship forms and was sentenced to 10 years in U.S. prison by a federal court in Florida last Thursday.  Prosecutors say that the 54 year-old pled guilty to taking part in the 1982 massacre of men, women and children in the Guatemalan village of Dos Erres.  Jordan acknowledged that he personally was also involved in throwing an infant down a well.   Allegedly, around 162 people were killed by gunfire or by being hit with sledgehammers.

Gilberto Jordan, a 54 year-old Ex-Guatemalan Soldier receives the maximum sentence for falsifying citizenship forms after admitting to his role in the 1982 massacre of men women and children in Dos Erres in Guatemala. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.
Gilberto Jordan, a 54 year-old Ex-Guatemalan Soldier receives the maximum sentence for falsifying citizenship forms after admitting to his role in the 1982 massacre of men, women and children in Dos Erres in Guatemala. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

“He never should have been allowed to live here peacefully for many years,” said U.S. Department of Justice senior trial attorney Hillary Davidson.  As a sergeant in an elite infantry unit known as the Kabildes , Jordan’s group was responsible for the control of opposition groups that rejected the military government currently in power in 1982.   The Guatemalan civil war lasted for decades before ending in 1996, claiming over 200,000 lives. 

At trial, Jordan insisted that the killings were committed out of duress, fearful for his own life after being told to follow orders or risk death as well.  He later asked for forgiveness for his actions in brief comments to the judge.  

Jordan was quoted as saying, “This is an incident in my life that I never expected to happen.”

Jordan illegally entered the United States in 1985, settling in Boca Raton, Florida.  Since 2004, he worked at a country club as a cook until his May arrest by U.S. agents. 14 arrest warrants have been issued for other suspects including 3 more awaiting trial for the Dos Erres Massacre.

District Court Judge William Zloch refused leniency and rather than impose the minimum 6 month sentence for lying on citizenship forms, gave Jordan the maximum 10 year sentence.  Judge Zloch commented that Jordan attempted to hide “his background as a mass murder,” indicating that “Anything less would be totally inadequate as just punishment for this crime and its accompanying heinous acts.”  

Jordan’s citizenship has been revoked and he will face prosecution for his crimes in Guatemala upon completion of his ten year sentence.

For More Information Please See:

Associated Press – Ex-Guatemalan Soldier Gets 10 Years In US Prison – 16 September 2010

Reuters – Ex-Guatemalan Soldier Gets Maximum Prison Term – 16 September 2010 

CBS News – US Seeks Max Sentence For Ex-Guatemalan Soldier – 15 September 2010

 

“Welcome” Raid Kills FARC Commander

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

The legendary commander, seen here in 2001. (Photo courtesy of Voice of America)
The legendary commander, seen here in 2001. (Photo courtesy of Voice of America)

 BOGOTA, Colombia—Colombia has reported that security forces have killed a legendary FARC military commander and strategist, Jorge Briceño.  The evasive commander was so highly in demand that at one point the U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Colombian forces raided a key rebel compound in the south of the country Wednesday, killing over 20 members of the leftist group.  According to authorities, 30 planes and 27 helicopters were used to subdue rebels at their stronghold in the jungle south of Bogota.  The raid was code-named “Sodom” in a reference to striking at the heart of the FARC, but the new Colombian administration dubs it the “Welcome” they promised the guerrilla group.

Fifty-seven-year-old Briceño, often called “El Mono Jojoy,” was the chief of military operations for FARC.  He had been hiding in a concrete bunker at the rebel base when he was killed.  President Juan Manuel Santos, who is visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly debate, declared Briceño’s death as a significant victory and blamed him for much of the violence that has plagued Colombia.

“He symbolized terror,” Santos said.  “This is the most important blow ever against the FARC.”  The president told the Associated Press that Briceño’s death will be meaningful to Colombians:  “It is as if they told New Yorkers that Osama bin Laden had fallen.”

During the 1990s, Briceño allegedly orchestrated multiple attacks against military outposts.  Just some of the charges against him during that period include murder, terrorism, and drug trafficking.

Aldo Civico, an expert on FARC at Rutgers University, said, “[Briceño] was really the military mastermind of the FARC, so for the past 25 years he has been extremely important in the military gains of the FARC.”

Newly-elected President Santos is no stranger to combating FARC.  Before becoming president, he served as defense minister and led numerous strikes against the group.  Many of these strikes attracted attention after high-profile hostages were freed and Paul Reyes, the notorious leader of FARC, was killed.

It is hoped that Briceño’s death will rock the FARC to its core and push members to collaborate with Colombian authorities.  Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera said that the successful “Welcome” operation was made possible by “the collaboration of members of the FARC itself,” and that “the FARC is rotting inside.”

Earlier this week, Colombian officials attacked a different FARC base, killing a senior commander and 27 other rebels.

For more information, please see:

New York Times-Colombia Says Rebel Commander Killed in Raid-23 September 2010

Washington Post-Colombian rebel leader reportedly killed in military strike-23 September 2010

Voice of America-Colombian Security Forces Kill Rebel Military Chief in Raid-23 September 2010

Two hundred children in Nigeria dead from lead poisoning

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Children in Abuja play next to lead-contaminated sites (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images).
Children in Abuja play next to lead-contaminated sites. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images).

ABUJA, Nigeria – An outbreak of lead poisoning has resulted in the deaths of at least two hundred children in Nigeria, prompting the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to send a five-person team of environmental emergency specialists to Abuja, the capital city.

The source of the lead poisoning is from lead-contaminated waste dumped from illegal gold mining and extracting by locals. In addition to the deaths of two hundred children, up to eighteen thousand people have been affected, according to UN sources.

In order to assess the full scale of the poisoning, the UN emergency team will spend close to two weeks in Nigeria, analyzing the soil and drinking water in an area encompassing seven villages in the Zamfara state. In the villages where contamination has been confirmed, the villagers were grinding ore by hand to find gold and unknowingly freed lead particles, which are also contained in the rocks.

“Proper sampling from the mobile laboratory is urgently needed to determine the scope and magnitude of the crisis and to assist in developing a rigorous response,” OCHA said in a statement.

Children are more vulnerable to the effects of the contamination, and most of the deaths were among children under the age of five. In one village, thirty percent of the children under five have died from the poisoning, according to Médicin Sans Frontières (MSF).

“This is an incredibly serious and worrying situation,” said Lauren Cooney of MSF, adding, “while we still don’t know the full extent of the problem, we expect that there are going to be medium- and long-term health effects for people in these villages.” The poisoning also causes deafness, blindness, brain damage and muscular problems.

OCHA has allocated two million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are working with local health authorities and non-governmental organizations to treat victims of the outbreak.

Local officials insist that the situation is under control, even though the response has been hindered by heavy rains, which have made it difficult to reach the isolated villages.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Nigeria gold rush sees 200 children killed in outbreak of lead poisoning – 22 September 2010

Radio Netherlands – UN investigates lead poisining in Nigeria – 22 September 2010

BBC – UN investigates Nigeria lead poisoning deaths – 21 September 2010

United Nations – UN probes outbreak of lead poisoning in northern Nigeria – 21 September 2010

Death Over Repatriation

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SYDNEY, Australia – A FIJI man died in detention center in Australia just hours before he was to be deported to Fiji. Immigration authorities are investigating the death of Josefa Rauluni, who refugee advocates say jumped from a roof after his plea to stay in Australia failed.

Refugee advocate Sara Nathan said three Tamil asylum-seekers were also staging a roof-top protest at Villawood and threatened to jump off, only a day after Rauluni’s death.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship reported that Rauluni, the 36-year-old Fijian national had been held in Villawood since August 17. 

On Sunday, September 17, Rauluni wrote to the New South Wales Ministerial Intervention Unit after receiving notice that he will soon be deported. In the letter, he expressed, “I cannot describe my utter disappointment with your decision,” and asked to delay his return to Fiji and said if he was to be deported to Fiji “then send my dead body.”

“He was given deportation papers this morning,” Ms Nathan said.

“About 15 minutes before he was due to be handcuffed, he climbed the building where he pleaded to be allowed to stay in Australia, even if it is in detention, as he feared persecution if he returned.”

“It is time Australia processed asylum-seeker applications and gave asylum to genuine refugees rather than rejecting them for political gains,” she said.

Rauluni’s death follows a string of suicide attempts and hunger strikes in Australian detention centres this year.

In March up to 100 detainees went on a hunger strike in the Villawood centre following the suicide attempt of a Chinese detainee.

Also, earlier this month more than 80 asylum seekers broke out of a detention centre in Darwin to protest at poor conditions of the centre.

NSW Greens senator-elect Lee Rhiannon said the incident proved the federal government needed to “immediately revisit” its refugee policy.

“The tragic death this morning of a young man from Fiji underlines the suffering many asylum- seekers are experiencing because of the inhumane handling of refugee applications by the federal government,” Ms Rhiannon said. 

Accordingly to the current Australian government policy, those who arrive by boat with no valid document are taken into immigration detention on Christmas Island or to centres on the mainland while their reasons for being in the country are investigated and verified.
 
Just this year, authorities have stopped boats carrying about 4,000 asylum seekers.
 
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is in talks over opening a regional processing centre for refugees in neighboring East Timor.

For more information, please see:

Fiji Times – Death Before Deportation – 21 September 2010

The Australian – Detainee Killed in Villawood Fall Faced Deportation to Fiji, Warned ‘Send My Dead Body’ – 20 September 2010

What’s On Xiamen – Fijian Detainee Josefa Rauluni, 36, Leaps to Death from Roof of Australian Centre – 21 September 2010

Afghan Elections Marred by Abductions and Intimidation

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KABUL, Afghanistan – Saturday’s parliamentary election in Afghanistan once again illustrated the numerous problems facing international forces and Afghans in the country.   Since Saturday’s election, over 3000 complaints of fraud and intimidation have been filed with the United Nation-backed Electoral Complaint Commission (ECC).   In the days prior to the election, abductions of civilians and election officials raised security concerns throughout the country.

Afghans Line Up to Vote in Parliamentary Elections Despite Violence and Abductions (Photo Courtesy of ABC News)
Afghans Line Up to Vote in Parliamentary Elections Despite Violence and Abductions (Photo Courtesy of ABC News)

More than 20 individuals were abducted by Taliban insurgent forces on the eve of the election and at least 22 people were killed by insurgent attacks on election day.  During the election, insurgents conducted 485 separate attacks on election facilities, according to NATO forces.   Despite these fatalities, a Pentagon spokesman noted that election violence has decreased when compared to the 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan.

Over 2,500 candidates ran for the 249 seats up for grabs in the parliamentary elections.   Against a backdrop of political instability, the ECC is now charged with the task of ensuring the validity of election results as complaints of illegal voting continue to pour in.   Stressing the significance of the elections, a representative for the United Nation’s mission in Afghanistan reported “[t]he independence of these institutions is crucial to the credibility of the completion of the electoral process.”

Over 1000 polling centers were forced to close their doors due to inadequate security.   In a comment to the Washington Examiner, Army Captain Max Pappas, a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, stated that the “Taliban intimidated people, but they weren’t able to stage a massive attack. At least that’s a good sign, but this is far from over.”  Although international forces in Afghanistan remain committed to the fight against the Taliban in the country, many recognize the difficult challenges that lay ahead.  Although U.S. officials remain optimistic about the successful promotion of democracy in Afghanistan, Saturday’s election highlights that the prospect of a legitimate and functioning government may still be untenable in the short term.

For more information, please see:

Agence France Presse – Afghanistan Says Over 3000 Complaints About Vote – 21 Sept. 2010

Xinhua News Agency – 2 Election Officials Missing, Thousands Complaints Filed in Afghan Polls – 21 Sept. 2001

Washington Examiner – Election Day is Day of Fear in Afghanistan – 20 Sept. 2010

ABC News – 22 Killed During Afghan Polls: NATO – 19 Sept. 2010

Al-Jazeera – Abductions Hit Afghan Poll Build-Up – 17 Sept. 2010