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WORLD NEWSThursday 17 March 2016
Cuba reports first case of Zika transmission Genocide trial set
in Guatemala for
M. WEISSENSTEIN An army truck fumigates to kill mosquitos in the Vedado not traveled outside Cuba ex-dictator Montt
Associated Press neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. was diagnosed with the virus
HAVANA (AP) — Cuban of- Authorities are fumigating in an attempt to prevent the spread after suffering headaches, GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A
ficials announced Tuesday of zika, chikungunya and dengue. fatigue and other symptoms. Guatemalan court con-
night that they have detect- On Monday, her blood test- vened Wednesday for a
ed the first case of the Zika (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) ed positive for Zika. She re- fourth attempt to try former
virus transmitted inside the mains hospitalized. dictator Efrain Rios Montt
country, ending Cuba’s sta- Cuba had previously report- on charges of genocide
tus as one of the last nations ed a handful of cases of the and crimes against hu-
in the hemisphere without disease in people who had manity during the Central
domestic cases of the dis- traveled to countries with American nation’s long
ease that has been linked to outbreaks of the mosquito- and bloody civil war.
birth defects. borne virus, particularly Ven- No sooner was the tribunal
State media said a 21-year- ezuela, and appeared to called to order than at-
old Havana woman who had have contracted it there. torneys filed motions that
could delay the trial again.
Defense lawyers sought to
block the proceeding from
beginning, while attorneys
for victims argued that it
should be split into two
separate trials.
Judge Maria Eugenia Cas-
tellanos admonished law-
yers on both sides for “re-
sorting to formalities.”
Rios Montt, an 89-year-
old ex-general who seized
power in a coup and was
de-facto president from
1982-83, is accused in the
killings of nearly 2,000 indig-
enous Ixil Guatemalans by
soldiers under his regime.
His former intelligence
chief, Mauricio Rodriguez
Sanchez, is a co-defen-
dant.
Rios Montt was convicted
at a previous trial in 2013
and given an 80-year
prison sentence, but that
was swiftly overturned on
procedural grounds and a
new trial ordered. Last year
the case was postponed
twice more by legal ap-
peals.
The ex-general has been
declared unfit for a regu-
lar trial due to dementia,
so the special closed-door
proceeding that opened
Wednesday in the capital
can determine his guilt or
innocence but would not
result in punishment for Rios
Montt if he is convicted.
Victims’ lawyers want Ro-
driguez to be tried sepa-
rately, arguing that his
health situation is different
from Rios Montt’s.
Rodriguez arrived in court
leaning on a cane and
said he would prove his in-
nocence.
“The only thing I want is
for this to be over soon so
I can rejoin my family,” he
said.
