Guatemala bishop's killer ran alleged jail empire

[Judi Lynn]

Guatemala bishop's killer ran alleged jail empire
Published: Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at 6:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at 6:16 p.m.


GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan army captain sentenced to 20 years for the slaying of a Roman Catholic bishop was charged with money laundering and organized crime for allegedly building a multimillion-dollar illicit prison empire based on threats and corruption.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that Byron Lima Oliva took money from other inmates in return for favors such as prohibited cellphones and appliances, as well as special food and conjugal visits.

"Lima represents for many of the inmates the true authority, and so they turn to him to seek transfers, favors and rights. Lima Oliva exerts undoubtable influence in the penitentiary system," Ivan Velasquez, head of the U.N. International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala told reporters.

~snip~

Lima, 44, allegedly had campaign T-shirts printed for the 2011 election of President Otto Perez Molina, who is also a former soldier.

More:
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140903/API/309039675

[Louisiana1976]

1. 20 years for murdering a bishop? That's not a long enough sentence. Anyway, I hope he gets

more prison time for his "empire" behind bars.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Recently one of the trolls claimed assassinations are done by bullets.

He/she/it was attempting to deny a Latin American assassination done by blunt force was not an assassination.

The information on the assassination of Bishop Gerardi was mentioned in answer to that deep reflection.

Interesting that one of the grisly mutants of the Guatemala military has stomped back into the news with this new information:

Assassination of Bishop Gerardi

Before his death in 1998, Roman Catholic Archbishop and human rights defender Juan José Gerardi Conedera was one of the strongest voices speaking out against the atrocities committed during the internal armed conflict. Following the January 1980 burning of the Spanish Embassy which resulted in the death of some 39 people, Gerardi, then Bishop of El Quiché, issued a statement condemning these acts of violence as well as the innumerable human rights abuses occurring on a daily basis at that time. As a consequence of his outspoken opposition, Gerardi received a number of death threats and was forced to live in exile while President Romeo Lucas García remained in power.

Gerardi was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Guatemala in 1984 and in 1989 he oversaw the creation of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala (ODHAG). His most important work, however, was the Recovery of Historical Memory project (REMHI). Gerardi committed himself fully to this project with the intention of exposing the truth of what happened during the armed conflict so that the people of Guatemala would never again suffer such a tragedy. The project, which began even before the official end of the conflict, included hundreds of interviews conducted by Gerardi and his colleagues in which Guatemalans from all over the country described their experiences and identified the perpetrators.

On April 24, 1998, Gerardi presented the findings of the REMHI project in a report entitled “Nunca Más” (Never Again). The report was particularly damning to the Guatemalan military and it paved the way for future historical recovery work surrounding the conflict such as the UN-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission (CEH) which was created as part of the 1996 peace process. REMHI’s report found that the military was responsible for 85% of the human rights violations committed during the 36-year period of civil war and that the guerrilla groups were responsible for 9%. Later findings by the CEH actually attributed an even higher number of violations to the Guatemalan army (93%, and only 3% committed by the guerrillas). The report was especially controversial because it was the first to provide the names of the implicated individuals. More than 1,000 individuals and military members were named in the report.

On April 26, 1998, two days after the release of the report, Bishop Gerardi was bludgeoned to death in his home in Guatemala City. This brutal murder of such a prominent Guatemalan figure was not handled professionally by either the police or the authorities, who failed to immediately link the murder to his political activities. Despite Guatemala’s unfortunate tendency for impunity in cases of violence against human rights defenders, three former military officers were eventually convicted of murdering Gerardi on June 8, 2001. The three officers were Col. Byron Disrael Lima Estrada, his son, Capt. Byron Lima Oliva and José Obdulio Villanueva. The historic trial was the first time high-ranking military officials had been tried since the 1996 ruling that removed exclusive military tribunal jurisdiction for officers accused of civilian crimes.

More:
http://www.ghrc-usa.org/resources/important-cases/assassination-of-bishop-gerardi/

[Judi Lynn]

3. Guatemala murder jail terms cut

Guatemala murder jail terms cut
Wednesday, March 23rd 2005


BBC News

Guatemala's appeals court has reduced by 10 years the sentences of two former army officers convicted for the 1998 murder of Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi.

Col Byron Lima Estrada and his son, Capt Byron Lima Oliva, had been serving 30 years each for their involvement.

But the court re-classified them as "accomplices" - a less serious crime.

The bishop was bludgeoned to death soon after presenting a report blaming the army for almost all atrocities during Guatemala's civil war in 1960-1996.

A third former officer, Sgt Obdulio Villanueva, who was also convicted for his involvement in the murder, was killed in a prison riot three years ago.

Ruling protested

The court's ruling on Tuesday came after defence lawyers successfully argued that more than one person cannot be convicted of a killing under Guatemalan law.

More:
http://www.soaw.org/site/newswire_detail.php?id=767

How on earth can any government get by with this law?