Guatemalan General Accused Of War Crimes Dies
Guatemalan General Accused Of War Crimes Dies
GUATEMALA CITY, Oct 20 (BERNAMA-NNN-EFE)--Retired Gen. Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes, who was charged with genocide for his actions during Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war, died of natural causes. He was 85. Lopez Fuentes, who was army chief of staff during the 1982-1983 rule of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt, died Sunday at the Military Medical Center, prisons service spokesman Rudy Esquivel said.
The general was detained June 17, 2011, and charged with genocide for actions during his time in the high command, but he never stood trial due to poor health. After spending 16 days in detention at an army barracks north of Guatemala City, Lopez Fuentes was transferred to the Military Medical Center, where he remained until his death, Esquivel told reporters.
On July 6, 2012, the medical examiner's office declared Lopez Fuentes mentally and physically unfit to stand trial.
Prosecutors had accused Lopez Fuentes of masterminding massacres of Ixil Indians in the northwestern province of Quiche during the early 1980s.
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Former General Hector Lopez Fuentes: First Arrest in Connection to Genocide in Guatemala PDF Print E-mai
Written by James Rodríguez, MiMundo.org
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 15:11
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Lopez Fuentes, 81 years old, is accused by the Public Prosecutor’s bureau for human rights “for over ten thousand murders, nine thousand forcibly displaced persons, and numerous rapes against women in the Maya Ixil region - all crimes took place between March 1982 and October 1983. According to Manuel Vasquez, attorney in charge of the case, the crimes occurred through the implementation of the Sofia, Victoria 82 and Firmeza 83 military campaigns. All three strategic operations were created and carried out while Lopez Fuentes acted as the Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff.” (2)
“One of the cases on which Lopez Fuentes is charged on details the murder of at least 53 people in the villages of Chel, Xesayi and Xaxmoxan, all in Chajul, Quiche, from April to October, 1983.” (4)
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/3090-former-general-hector-lopez-fuentes-first-arrest-in-connection-to-genocide-in-guatemala-
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