Photos: Former Guatemalan President Rios Montt guilty of genocide
May 11, 2013
Former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, 86, gestures after listening his sentence during the trial against him on charges of genocide committed during his regime, in Guatemala City, on May 10, 2013. Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes on Friday in a landmark ruling stemming from massacres of indigenous people in his country's long civil war. Rios Montt thus became the first Latin American convicted of trying to exterminate an entire group of people in a brief but particularly gruesome stretch of a war that started in 1960, lasted 36 years and left around 200,000 people dead or missing. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519628101 )
Former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt (C), 86, is hounded by the media after being sentenced on charges of genocide committed during his regime, in Guatemala City, on May 10, 2013. Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes on Friday in a landmark ruling stemming from massacres of indigenous people in his country's long civil war. Rios Montt thus became the first Latin American convicted of trying to exterminate an entire group of people in a brief but particularly gruesome stretch of a war that started in 1960, lasted 36 years and left around 200,000 people dead or missing. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519628863 )
People react after former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was sentenced for genocide charges in the Supreme Court of Guatemala City May 10, 2013. Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country's 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA-RIOSMONTT/ )
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt speaks in his genocide trial, which is drawing to a conclusion, at the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City, May 9, 2013. A Guatemalan judge on May 2 restarted the genocide trial of Rios Montt following a two-week suspension due to a fight over who should oversee the case. Rios Montt, 86, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for a counterinsurgency plan conceived under his 1982-1983 rule that killed 1,771 members of the Ixil indigenous group in one of the bloodiest phases of Guatemala's civil war. According to local media, the public ministry is calling for a 75-year jail sentence for Rios Montt. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA-RIOSMONTT/ )
Retired Guatemalan General Jose Rodriguez (C), former intelligence chief of former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, react after being absolved of charges of genocide committed during the de facto regime, in Guatemala City, on May 10, 2013. Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes on Friday in a landmark ruling stemming from massacres of indigenous people in his country's long civil war. Rios Montt thus became the first Latin American convicted of trying to exterminate an entire group of people in a brief but particularly gruesome stretch of a war that started in 1960, lasted 36 years and left around 200,000 people dead or missing. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519629516 )
An Ixil Indian woman, the relative of a civil war victim, uses earphones to hear translations between Spanish and the Ixil language during the genocide trial of former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala City, Thursday, May 9, 2013. The 86-year-old ex-general says he never ordered attacks against "a race,"denying he ordered the extermination of Ixil Mayas. Prosecutors say that while in power, Rios Montt was aware of, and thus responsible for, the slaughter of at least 1,771 Ixil Mayas in the towns of San Juan Cotzal, San Gaspar Chajul and Santa Maria Nebaj in Guatemala's western highlands. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) ( APTOPIX Guatemala Rios Montt )
The relatives of people who were killed in the country's civil embrace after the judge's guilty verdict for Guatemala's former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt after his trial for genocide in Guatemala City, Friday, May 10, 2013. The Guatemalan court convicted Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to 80 years in prison. The 86-year-old former general is the first former Latin American leader ever found guilty of such a charge. The war between the government and leftist rebels cost more than 200,000 lives and ended in peace accords in 1996. (AP Photo/Luis Soto) ( Guatemala Rios Montt )
Cesar Calderon (R), lawyer of the former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt (L), speaks during the genocide trial against Rios Montt in the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City, May 8, 2013. A Guatemalan judge on last Thursday restarted the genocide trial of Rios Montt following a two-week suspension due to a fight over who should oversee the case. Rios Montt, 86, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for a counterinsurgency plan conceived under his 1982-1983 rule that killed 1,771 members of the Ixil indigenous group in one of the bloodiest phases of Guatemala's civil war. According to local media, the public ministry is calling for a 75 year jail sentence for Rios Montt. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA/ )
People celebrate the judge's guilty verdict for Guatemala's former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt during his genocide trial in Guatemala City, Friday, May 10, 2013. The Guatemalan court convicted Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to 80 years in prison. The 86-year-old former general is the first former Latin American leader ever found guilty of such a charge. The war between the government and leftist rebels cost more than 200,000 lives and ended in peace accords in 1996. (AP Photo/Moises Castilo) ( APTOPIX Guatemala Rios Montt )
Guatemala's former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt wears headphones as he listens to the verdict in his genocide trial in Guatemala City, Friday, May 10, 2013. The Guatemalan court convicted Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to 80 years in prison. The 86-year-old former general is the first former Latin American leader ever found guilty of such a charge. The war between the government and leftist rebels cost more than 200,000 lives and ended in peace accords in 1996. (AP Photo/Moises Castilo) ( Guatemala Rios Montt )
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt is surrounded by the media after he was sentenced for genocide charges in the Supreme Court of Guatemala City May 10, 2013. Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country's 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA-RIOSMONTT/ )
Ixil women, including Guatemala's civil war survivor Maria Raymundo (C), celebrate after listening the sentence given to former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, 86, for crimes committed during his regime, in Guatemala City, on May 10, 2013. Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes on Friday in a landmark ruling stemming from massacres of indigenous people in his country's long civil war. Rios Montt thus became the first Latin American convicted of trying to exterminate an entire group of people in a brief but particularly gruesome stretch of a war that started in 1960, lasted 36 years and left around 200,000 people dead or missing. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519629449 )
A man rides pass a poster on the back of bus at the streets of Guatemala City, May 8, 2013. During the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, between 1960 and 1996 around 200,000 people were forcibly disappeared or killed and that 669 massacres had taken place, mainly in Indigenous villages. The poster reads, "Justice for Genocide". REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA/ )
FILE - In this March 23, 1982 photo, General Efrain Rios Montt, center, speaks at a press conference in Guatemala City, where he announced the formation of a junta in the aftermath of the overthrow of General Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia's right wing government. At left is General Horacio Maldonado Shad and right is Colonel Luis Frandisco Gordillo. Rios Montt rose to power in this March 23, 1982 coup d'etat, holding absolute power for just over a year before he himself was overthrown. Rios Montt has ruled as Guatemalaís dictator, served as president of Congress, preached as an evangelical pastor and now, at 87, has become the first Latin American strongman to stand trial on genocide charges in his own country. (AP Photo, File) ( Guatemala Rios Montt Profile )
Soldiers in a jeep block one of the streets of the National Palace, stopping the civilians from passing through, in Guatemala City, Aug. 8, 1983. Earlier, the military announced that Gen. Oscar Mejia Victores will replace Efrain Rios Montt as president of Guatemala, the National Radio reported. (AP Photo) ( Guatemala Coup 1983 )
Two Guatemalan soldiers stand guard on the steps of the Presidential Palace in Guatemala City, Aug. 10, 1983, one day after the government of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt was toppled by a military coup. (AP Photo/P.W. Hamilton) ( Guatemala Coup 1983 )
An armored troop carrier and a truckload of Guatemalan soldiers block an intersection near the Presidential Palace in downtown Guatemala City, Aug. 10, 1983. Government troops were seen throughout the city one day after the government of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt was toppled by a military coup. Defense Minister Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores was named president. (AP Photo/P.W. Hamilton) ( Guatemala Coup 1983 )
Retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, left, founder of the Guatemalan Republican Front Party (FRG) is shown as the final week of campaigning begins, Sunday , Oct. 31, 1999, in Guatemala City. Alfonso Portillo of the Guatemalan Republican Front Party and Oscar Berger of the ruling National Advancement Party (PAN), are the main candidates of the Nov. 7 election. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) ( GUATEMALA ELECTIONS )
An unidentified woman beats an effigy of former military leader Efrain Rios Montt during the 101st annual Huelga de Dolores in Guatemala City Friday, March 26, 1999. The annual march is a method in which the university students let their grievances with the Guatemalan government be known. Rios Montt was a general who seized power in a March 1982 coup and governed until he was overthrown in August 1983. During his rule, the army burned Indian villages and killed thousands of suspected leftists. While beating the effigy, other students shouted, "First Pinochet, now Rios Montt," in a cry for the former military leader to be tried for his crimes. (AP Photo/Scott Dalton) ( GUATEMALA STUDENTS MARCH )
A nun carries a poster with a photo of Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt which reads "WANTED: Jose Efrain Rios Montt and those associated with his High Military Order of 1982. For war crimes and crimes against humanity" in front of the public ministry in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Wednesday, June 6, 2001. Residents of 11 villages hit by army massacres in the early 1980s filed a genocide complaint with prosecutors against former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt. (AP Photo/Jaime Puebla) ( GUATEMALA DICTATOR )
Blanca de Hernandez lights candles outside of Guatemala's Constitutional Court as police look on, during a protest in Guatemala City Tuesday, July 15, 2003. Human rights groups acted with outrage and opposition politicians asked federal election officials Tuesday to ignore a decision by Guatemala's highest court allowing former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to run for president in November. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA FORMER DICTATOR )
Protesters carry a coffin that symbolizes the death of Guatemala's Constitutional Court in front of the Electoral Supreme Tribunal in Guatemala City on Wednesday, July 16, 2003. More than 30 social organizations condemned the country's highest court for clearing the way for former dictor Efrain Rios Montt to run for president in the November 2003 elections. (AP Photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA RIOS MONTT )
Protesters burn a coffin that symbolizes the death of Guatemala's Constitutional Court in front of the Electoral Supreme Tribunal in Guatemala City, on Wednesday, July 16, 2003. More than 30 social organizations condemned the country's highest court for clearing the way for former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to run for president in the November 2003 elections.(Ap photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA RIOS MONTT )
Protesters through tomatoes at the Guatemala's Constitutional Court building during a protest in Guatemala City Tuesday, July 15, 2003. Human rights groups acted with outrage and opposition politicians asked federal election officials Tuesday to ignore a decision by Guatemala's highest court allowing former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to run for president in November. (AP Photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA FORMER DICTATOR )
Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt is protected by his bodyguards as he flees from the relatives of massacred villagers during a campaign rally in Rabinal, 180 km north from Guatemala City, June 14, 2003. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA ATTACK TO RIOS MONTT )
Supporters of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt mount transports to downtown Guatemala City, Thursday July 24, 2003. A television reporter of Channel 7 apparently died of a heart attack while fleeing from a mob that was chasing reporters who were covering the demonstration. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA PROTEST )
Luis Marroquin wears mourning colors on his face to represent grief for the death of the guatemalan constitution during a desmotration against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's presidential candidacy in Guatemala City, Sunday, July 20, 2003. After a decade of being banned from running for president by the constitution, Rios won an appeal at the Constitutional Court. Despite serious allegations of human rights abuses in the past, Rios Montt retains a 7% of vote intention according to the polls. (APPhoto/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA RIOS MONTT )
Villagers bring remains of their loved ones to the local church to commemorate the massacre of San Martin Jilotepeque, on Friday Oct 31, 2003. The massacre where some 30 people were killed was commited in 1982 by the Guatemalan Army during former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's tenure. Montt is a candidate in the Presidential elections scheduled to be held on November 9. (AP Photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA )
Mayan Indian widow Gregoria Luisa de la Cruz holds an anti-former dictator Efrain Rios Montt sign, during a march in Guatemala City Wednesday, July 16, 2003. Her husband, Urgencio de Paz, was killed in 1982, during Rios Montt's regime. Protesters, mostly from the Mayan indigenous community, marched Wednesday to attend the creation of the National Commission for the assistance of victims of the country's civil war. The formation of the commission was part of peace accords which were signed in 1996 between leftist guerrillas and the State of Guatemala. Protesters were also marching against the country's highest court clearing the way for Rios Montt to run for president in the country's november 2003 elections. (AP photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA HUMAN RIGHTS )
Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt greets supporters during a campaign rally in El Progreso, 100 km (62 miles) east of Guatemala City , Sunday, Oct 5, 2003. Human rights groups say the ex-general was responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed during Guatemala's 36- year civil war. Rios Montt is running for president in the Nov. 9 elections and insists he has put his dark past behind him. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA RIOS MONTT )
Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt is seen in a poster splattered with red paint, sympbolizing blood, in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Oct 7, 2003. Human rights groups say the ex-general was responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed during Guatemala's 36- year civil war. Rios Montt is running for president in the Nov. 9 elections and insists he has put his dark past behind him. (AP Photo/ Rodrigo Abd) ( GUATEMALA RIOS MONTT )
In this July 23, 2011, file photo, Tomas Raymundo Perez poses for a picture with a portrait of his father that reads "Died Aug. 13, 1982" at his home in the municipality of Nebaj in Guatemala. Guatemalan soldiers allegedly killed Perez's family during a 1982 raid in the community of Vivitz. Twenty-nine years later, in June 2011, the Public Ministry brought charges against Gen. Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes in connection with the planning and ordering of bloody military operations that were part of the military plan coined "Victoria 82," among other crimes during his time as the Defense Ministry's Chief of Staff, including the extermination of residents in villages within the municipality of Nebaj during the government of Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983). (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, file) ( Guatemala Genocide )
A man carries a coffin containing the remains of a relative toward a cemetery for a reburial ceremony of 19 people missing since the massacres occurred in San Martin Jilotepeque in 1982, in San Martin Jilotepeque, 70 Km (44 miles) west of Guatemala City, Guatemala, Wednesday, July 12, 2006. According to the United Nations, 426 massacres were reported in Guatemala, mostly during the former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's tenure. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) ( GUATEMALA CIVIL WAR )
A boy looks on while walking behind two men carrying the remains of relatives towards a cemetery for a reburial ceremony of 19 people missing since the massacres occurred in San Martin Jilotepeque in 1982, in San Martin Jilotepeque, 70 Km (44 miles) west of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Wednesday, July 12, 2006. According to the United Nations, 426 massacres were reported in Guatemala, mostly during the former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's tenure. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) ( GUATEMALA CIVIL WAR )
In this photo taken July 23, 2011, Juana Matom rests with her daughter at the Vijolom II cemetery in Nebaj, Guatemala. Guatemalan soldiers allegedly killed Matom's brother and father in Sept. 1982 during a raid on the community of Vivitz in Nebaj municipality. Twenty-nine years later, in June 2011, the Public Ministry brought charges against Gen. Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes in connection with the planning and ordering of bloody military operations that were part of the military plan coined "Victoria 82," among other crimes during his time as the Defense Ministry's Chief of Staff, including the extermination of residents in villages within the municipality of Nebaj during the government of Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983). (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( Guatemala Genocide )
In this July 23, 2011, file photo, a villager walks in the rain in the municipality of Nebaj, Guatemala. Guatemalan soldiers allegedly killed villagers during 1982 raids on communities in the municipality of Nebaj. Twenty-nine years later, in June 2011, the Public Ministry brought charges against Gen. Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes in connection with the planning and ordering of bloody military operations that were part of a military plan coined "Victoria 82," among other crimes during his time as the Defense Ministry's Chief of Staff, including the extermination of residents in villages within the municipality of Nebaj during the government of Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983). (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, file) ( Guatemala Genocide )
In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, Guatemala's former dictator Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983), who faces genocide charges, returns from a break in court in Guatemala City. Ten months after the historic day when a judge ruled that the former dictator Rios Montt was indicted for genocide, the trial has not yet started due to legal maneuvering by military lawyers, delaying the process. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File) ( Guatemala Rios Montt )
Retired Guatemalan Gen. Hector Mario Lopez, 81, sits behind a window inside a cell during a break on the day of declarations to the judge in Guatemala City, Monday, June 20, 2011. Lopez, who was arrested on Friday, is accused of directing a "scorched earth" campaign against mainly Mayan communities during the dictatorship of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt. The civil war that started in 1960 cost about 200,000 lives before the government signed peace accords with leftist rebels in 1996. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) ( Guatemala Past Crimes )
Activist set up banners during a demonstration marking the 27th anniversary of the burning of the Spanish Embassy by Guatemalan police in Guatemala City Wednesday Jan. 31, 2007. The fire killed 37 people inside who were occupying the embassy to protest the killing of Mayans. The banner showing Jose Efrain Rios Montt, the general who was ruling during what was considered the bloodiest period of Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war, reads in Spanish "Wanted for genocide".(AP Photo/Moises Castillo) ( Guatemala Anniversary )
A Ixil indigenous woman, survivor of Guatemalan civil war, attends the trial against former Guatemalan dictator retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983) in Guatemala City on May 9, 2013. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519590566 )
Members of the media film and take pictures of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt as he speaks in his genocide trial, which is drawing to a conclusion, at the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City, May 9, 2013. A Guatemalan judge on May 2 restarted the genocide trial of Rios Montt following a two-week suspension due to a fight over who should oversee the case. Rios Montt, 86, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for a counterinsurgency plan conceived under his 1982-1983 rule that killed 1,771 members of the Ixil indigenous group in one of the bloodiest phases of Guatemala's civil war. According to local media, the public ministry is calling for a 75-year jail sentence for Rios Montt. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA-RIOSMONTT/ )
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt (C) arrives at the Supreme Court of Justice for his sentencing in Guatemala City May 10, 2013. A Guatemalan court on Friday found former dictator Rios Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of a 36-year civil war. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez ( GUATEMALA-RIOSMONTT/VERDICT )
Former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, 86, gestures after listening his sentence during the trial against him on charges of genocide committed during his regime, in Guatemala City, on May 10, 2013. Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes on Friday in a landmark ruling stemming from massacres of indigenous people in his country's long civil war. Rios Montt thus became the first Latin American convicted of trying to exterminate an entire group of people in a brief but particularly gruesome stretch of a war that started in 1960, lasted 36 years and left around 200,000 people dead or missing. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 519635392 )