Judicial Proceedings
In 1994 a case was presented in Guatemala to investigate and bring to trial those responsible for the massacre. However, the case remained paralyzed in Guatemala's justice system and showed no signs of progress.
In 2000, President Alfonso Portillo admitted government responsibility for the massacre. He acknowledged the deaths of 226 victims at the hands of state agents, humbly asked for forgiveness on behalf of the state, and presented survivors' groups with a cheque totaling US$ $1.82 million.
In 2009, the IACHR held that the amnesty law of 1996 did not apply to the most serious crimes committed during the civil war. This was followed by investigations in the United States against people suspected of involvement in the massacre. In May 2010, Gilberto Jordan, naturalized American and former member of the Kaibiles special forces, was accused of involvement in the massacre and arrested in Florida by U.S. Immigration and Customs officers. On 16 September 2010, after his role in the massacre was established in a Miami court, Jordan was convicted for naturalization fraud and is serving a 10-year prison sentence in FCI Miami. He is expected to be released on 29 March 2019.
In January 2011, Jorge Vinicio Orantes Sosa, another former Kaibil member suspected to be involved in the massacre, was arrested in Alberta on charges of lying to immigration authorities. In September 2011, US authorities formally requested Sosa's extradition from Canada to the United States to face charges of making a false statement and unlawful procurement of citizenship, with regards to his arrival from Guatemala to the United States a few years after the massacre. Sosa, who holds both Canadian and American citizenship is also wanted by Guatemalan authorities.
On 25 July 2011, trials began in Guatemala City against four former soldiers of the Kaibiles special forces accused of participating in the massacre.
On 2 August 2011, a court found the three soldiers, Manuel Pop, Reyes Collin Gualip, Daniel Martínez Hernández and Lieutenant Carlos Carías guilty of the massacre. They were sentenced to over 6,000 years each in prison.
On 12 March 2012, Pedro Pimentel Rios was sentenced to a symbolic 6,060 years in prison for his part in the massacre. On May 25, 2012, the American public radio show "This American Life" aired an episode entitled "What Happened At Dos Erres" which covered the story of a survivor of the massacre, Oscar Ramirez. On July 24, 2012 CBC Radio One program "Metamorphosis" aired an interview with another survivor, Ramiro Cristales.
Read more about this topic: Dos Erres Massacre
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