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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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Guatemala Army Officer Convicted In Civil
War Case
GUATEMALA (AP) - A retired army
officer has been convicted and sentenced to
53 years in prison in the forced
disappearance of civilians during
Guatemala's civil war.
The convictions for the 1981 abductions at
the village of El Jute were the first ever
under charges of failing to respect the
rights of civilians.
Witnesses tied Retired Col. Marco Antonio
Sanchez and three paramilitaries to the
disappearances of eight El Jute residents.
Prosecutor Manuel Vasquez said Friday that
Sanchez was convicted by a court in the town
of Chiquimula.
During a 36-year war, the military's
scorched-earth campaigns reduced hundreds of
Mayan villages to cinders, in hopes of
choking off civilian support for guerrillas
battling the government. |
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