Spanish court issues arrest warrant for former Guatemalan ruler News
Spanish court issues arrest warrant for former Guatemalan ruler

[JURIST] A Spanish court has issued an international arrest warrant for former Guatemalan military ruler Romeo Lucas Garcia, sources said Monday. Garcia, who now suffers from Alzheimer's disease, is wanted in connection with a 1980 siege against the Spanish embassy in Guatemala where thirty-seven people died. 10 other former leaders have been charged in the case, which began as an investigation by the Spanish High Court into genocide. The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled that the High Court had no right to investigate genocide, but other parts of the case are proceeding because there were Spanish victims involved in the siege. A UN-backed Guatemalan truth commission [background from Jeannette Rankin Library Program; report text] concluded that the military was responsible for over 90 percent of all murders, disappearances, and other human rights abuses during Guatemala's 36-year armed conflict. Reuters has more.