Bolivians sue ex-president in U.S. over deaths

[Judi Lynn]

Source: CNN

updated 2 hours, 45 minutes ago

Bolivians sue ex-president in U.S. over deaths

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- A group of 10 Bolivians is suing the country's former president and defense minister in federal court in Florida over their government's response to protests in 2003, which left 67 civilians dead and injured 400 more.

The Bolivians say the two men have escaped accountability in Bolivia by relocating to the United States and must be forced to pay damages for the deaths of innocent family members.

Former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who lives in exile in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and former Defense Minister Jose Carlos Sanchez Berzain -- a resident of Key Biscayne, Florida -- say the case should be thrown out.

They contend they were doing their constitutional duty to quell a violent uprising and that the events and people involved are purely Bolivian and, as such, are not subject to U.S. laws.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/16/bolivia.lawsuit.ap/index.html

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Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was assisted by campaign strategist James Carville in his last campaign. That campaign is documented in the film, "Our Brand is Crisis," which reruns periodically at the Sundance Channel, and can be found on CD's online, at at video stores.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Bolivia's ex-president targeted in U.S. lawsuit over deaths

Bolivia's ex-president targeted in U.S. lawsuit over deaths
Apr 16, 2008 2:37 PM (6 hrs ago) By CURT ANDERSON, AP

MIAMI (Map, News) - Eight-year-old Marlene Nancy Rojas Ramos was at home with her mother in Warista, Bolivia, when violent anti-government protests erupted in fall 2003. When she peeked out a second-story window, a gunman shot her from a distance of several hundred yards.

The bullet tore through Marlene's chest and lodged in the wall behind her. She fell onto a bed where her mother, Etelvina Ramos Mamani, was lying with a newborn baby. Marlene died in her mother's arms. Her father had to dodge a hail of bullets fired by soldiers while crawling home to reach his stricken daughter.

Now, Ramos and her husband are among 10 Bolivians suing the country's former president and defense minister in Miami federal court over the government response to the protests, which killed 67 civilians and injured 400 more. They claim the two men have escaped any accountability in Bolivia by relocating to the U.S. and must be forced to pay damages for the deaths of innocent family members.

"We hope the judiciary in the United States will give a fair trial for the victims and defendants. We are asking for justice," said Juan Patricio Quispe Mamani, whose brother was killed during the protests.

Former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who lives in exile in Chevy Chase, Md., and former defense minister Jose Carlos Sanchez Berzain - now a resident of Key Biscayne - say the case should be thrown out. They contend they were doing their constitutional duty to quell a violent uprising and that the events and people involved are purely Bolivian.

More:
http://www.examiner.com/a-1344220~Bolivia_s_ex_president_targeted_in_U_S__lawsuit_over_deaths.html

[ShockediSay]

2. "Doing their constitutional duty" is no defense

for war crimes under the act that allows US suits vs US resident war criminals

[Wizard777]

13. If memory serves me correctly. International law cannot be applied to a civil war or conflict.

Also there are constitutional issues concerning jurisdiction. A person must be tried for crime in the place the crime occured. Be it a locality, state, or united states. The place the crime, if it is in deed a crime, occured is Boliva. Which is outside of our jurisdiction.

[judasdisney]

3. Did Greenberg Carville & Shrum dip a hand into the Dirty Wars?

It seems that Democrats must always taint themselves with the genocidal fantasia of the Far Right.

From Harry Truman to the Clintons and their ilk, there seems to be no abstaining from the Dirty Wars.

How much should we wager that Greenberg Carville & Shrum had some hand in advising the killings? Or some DLC hacks just like them?

Operation Condor will become Operation Falcon, and the birds will come home to roost upon the citizens of the U.S.:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/14/fugitive.arrests/index.html

[Judi Lynn]

4. God only knows how long it's going to be before US citizens have ANY idea what the hell has happened

However, it seemed like a step forward when Bill Clinton apologized for what shrieking nightmare befell Guatemala:

Clinton apology to Guatemala
Leader is first president to admit US role in slaughter of thousands of civilians in 36-year civil war

By Martin Kettle in Washington and Jeremy Lennard in Bogota The Guardian, Friday March 12 1999 Article historyAbout this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Friday March 12 1999 . It was last updated at 03:34 on March 12 1999. Bill Clinton has made a dramatic break with the policy of previous presidents by expressing regret for the role the United States played in backing a brutal counter-terrorism campaign that caused the deaths of thousands of civilians in Guatemala's civil war.

Mr Clinton made the apology in Guatemala City during his current four-nation visit to central America. It followed the publication last month of the findings of the independent Historical Clarification Commission which concluded that the US was responsible for most of the human rights abuses committed during the 36-year war in which 200,000 people died.

'It is important that I state clearly that support for military forces or intelligence units which engaged in violent and widespread repression of the kind described in the report was wrong,' Mr Clinton said. 'And the United States must not repeat that mistake. We must and we will instead continue to support the peace and reconciliation process in Guatemala.'

The remarks came as the US declassified thousands of documents made available to the commission which tell how the US initiated and sustained a murderous war conducted by Guatemalan security forces against civilians suspected of aiding leftwing guerrilla movements.

'I have never seen anything like it,' said Kate Doyle, the Guatemala project director at the National Security Archive, a private research body which has obtained the US documents. Ms Doyle said the documents tell the fullest story so far of 'our intimacy with the Guatemalan security forces'.

A 1966 document reveals that US security forces set up a safe house inside the presidential palace in Guatemala City for use by Guatemalan security agents and their US contacts. It became the headquarters for the so-called 'dirty war'.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/mar/12/jeremylennard.martinkettle

[judasdisney]

5. The Clintons' Schizophrenia

On one hand, Clinton apologized for a lot of the Right-Wing's orchestration of the Dirty Wars in Central America, and he declassified material on CIA/Nixon Administration involvement in Chile. Bill Clinton was open and friendly toward Hugo Chavez.

Then Clinton launched Plan Colombia. Alvaro Uribe has Death Squads & mass graves, which Chavez does not. Now Billary is divided over Plan Colombia's inherent "goodness" and Hillary attacks Hugo Chavez: fully agreeing with the Neocon reversal-of-facts that Chavez is a "dictator."

There was a spark of light somewhere in the 1990s for Bill and Hillary.

That spark of light is fully extinguished now.

I have no doubt that Hillary will be President, even if Obama gets thrown a token one-term presidency which Clinton will enthusiastically, surreptitiously sabotage. And I have no doubt that when (not IF) Hillary is President, she will authorize the assassination of Hugo Chavez in order to seek the approval of Neocons.

History has given us two HRCs at this moment: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Hugo Rafael Chavez. Something tells me there's a symbolic and providential lesson we're going to be taught about good and evil.

[Judi Lynn]

10. There is a horrible duality in there. It's tragic.

If we even had media occassionally inclined to tell the truth about any part of Latin America, we wouldn't have such a loud, nasty, fact-free, delusional group of half-baked fascists howling for the disruption of the Venezuelan people's government. It's pure evil that anyone could get so many people so whipped up to do something evil, and completely off-base.

Hillary has cast her lot with the right-wing extremists in South Florida due to her brother's marriage to a reactionary Cuban "exile" who has helped both Clintons in their campaigning in Florida. She's simply committed to these clowns, unfortunately, and they have bonded with the Venezuelan oligarchy which has a number of second homes in that area, as well as some expatriots by now. They even held a joint anti-Chavez parade together on a day the entire world was pouring into the streets to protest _Bush's impending assault on the Iraqi people.

Useful quote from a great Uruguayan author, Eduardo Galeano, concerning a sign he saw walking through a town in Latin America:

"Let's save pessimism for better times."Seems fitting!

[AlphaCentauri]

8. Too bad that apologies can't change history

or even the live of those affected for the extermination policies.

[krkaufman]

6. "Our Brand is Crisis" ... could equally apply to the current Carville-linked campaign. n/t

[AlphaCentauri]

7. "people involved are purely Bolivian and, as such, are not subject to U.S. laws"

interesting how the ex president see the US as a refuge for criminals.

[bluesmail]

9. constitutional duty my ass

and they have an R Governor to cover up for them.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Florida is the landing pad for deposed right-wing dictators, death squad leaders,

and impeached Presidents of Latin America. WHAT A ZOO!

On edit, it reminds you of the days right after the Second World War when the Nazis poured out of Germany and showed up in Latin America! Interesting to consider the comparison! They could be assured haven there, just as the bloody fiends who served U.S. corporate and right-wing interests are sure to find shelter in Florida.

[AlphaCentauri]

12. include mireya moscoso ex president of Panama n/t