Free Republic

Former Guatemalan dictator Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt will face a new genocide trial for his alleged role in persecuting Maya Ixil Indians, but will be tried behind closed doors as he suffers from dementia. Ríos Montt, 89, will not be required to attend the trial, where he will be represented by his lawyers. The start of the retrial is scheduled for January 11. The retired general was convicted and sentenced in 2013 to 80 years imprisonment in connection the the killing of 1,771 people in the Mayan Highlands during 1982 and 1983. Ríos Montt ruled Guatemala for nearly 17 months...

Guatemala Murder Scandal Could Threaten the PresidencyThe scandal surrounding accusations that Guatemala's president orchestrated the murder of a prominent lawyer is intensifying  deepening divisions in a country still recovering from a 36-year civil war. It is also, according to some analysts, handing the country its greatest threat to democracy since that war ended in 1996. Tens of thousands of Guatemalans have taken to the streets since a video emerged in which Rodrigo Rosenberg, the lawyer, accused Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and three others of murder and corruption. Mr. Rosenberg, who was shot dead while riding his bike on May...