Another Dos Erres suspect arrested in the US
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore office arrested and charged Jose Mardoqueo Ortiz Morales on January 6th. Ortiz Morales is sought by Guatemalan authorities on charges of murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his participation in December 1982's Dos Erres massacre.
Will the relevant offices' resources be cut? Will the new administration weigh in on which suspects to pursue based upon political calculation? While I would disagree with such approach, it might still be within the purview of the next administration. Elections have consequences.
On the other hand, the war crimes unit was established during President George Bush's term. Since 2004, ICE has arrested 375 suspects and "obtained deportation orders and/order physically removed from the United States more than 815 known or suspected human rights violators." There's some bipartisan support for such important work.
Ortiz Morales is the fifth participant in the Dos Erres massacre living in the U.S. to be targeted by ICE for enforcement action. At the time of his arrest, Ortiz Morales was a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.
ICE has previously removed two Dos Erres massacre participants from the U.S. to Guatemala to face war crimes charges. The first, Pedro Pimentel Rios, was removed in 2011 and on March 12, 2012, convicted for his role in the massacre, and sentenced to 6,060 years in prison. The second, Santos Lopez Alonzo, was removed to Guatemala on August 10, 2016; he remains detained while awaiting the start of his trial in January 2017. The remaining two ex-Kaibiles, Gilberto Jordan and Jorge Sosa Orantes, are both currently serving 10-year federal prison terms for naturalization fraud. ICE will seek to deport both men once they have fulfilled their sentences.Transitional justice was impeded but continued during former President Otto Perez Molina's administration in Guatemala. Unfortunately, I do wonder what will happen to this US enforcement unit under President Trump.
Will the relevant offices' resources be cut? Will the new administration weigh in on which suspects to pursue based upon political calculation? While I would disagree with such approach, it might still be within the purview of the next administration. Elections have consequences.
On the other hand, the war crimes unit was established during President George Bush's term. Since 2004, ICE has arrested 375 suspects and "obtained deportation orders and/order physically removed from the United States more than 815 known or suspected human rights violators." There's some bipartisan support for such important work.
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