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Héctor Mario López Fuentes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Héctor Mario López Fuentes (7 May 1930 – 18 October 2015)[1] was a Guatemalan general. He served as Army Chief of Staff until his replacement in 1983 by Rodolfo Lobos Zamora.[2]

In July 2011, López Fuentes was arrested on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for his links to the killings of more than 300 Mayan civilians in the Ixil region during the administration of President Efrain Rios Montt.[3]

At the time, López Fuentes was suffering from terminal cancer and a hearing originally scheduled for October 2011 had to be delayed due to his condition.[4] In May 2012, he was brought before Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez of Tribunal B de Mayor Riesgo to face the charges. Gálvez rejected a motion by López' lawyer Moisés Galindo to close the tribunal on the grounds of López Fuentes' poor health.[5] The retrial was scheduled for January 2016 but López Fuentes died on 18 October 2015, aged 85.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "El ausente López Fuentes". elperiodico. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  2. ^ "World Roundup". The Pittsburgh Press. 22 October 1983. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Guatemala: Ex-armed forces chief Lopez Fuentes arrested". BBC News. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Guatemala judge postpones ex-general's hearing". The Guardian. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Tribunal rechaza clausurar proceso por genocidio a López Fuentes". Prensa Libre. 31 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. ^ Guatemala ex-army chief Hector Lopez Fuentes dies, bbc.co.uk; accessed 31 October 2015.