Victory in Guatemala Shortlived

The recent conviction of former General Efrain Rios Montt was overturned by Guatemala’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, on Monday, May 20, 2013–less than two weeks after he was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity by a three-panel tribunal.  The decision was 3-2, and was thanks in part to an aggressive lobbying effort by the nation’s most influential business federation.  After the ruling, Rios Montt was sent back to house arrest, where he had been since the case started in January, 2012.