Gilberto Jordan64-year-old Guatemalan ex-military officer wanted for his involvement in the Dos Erres massacre in 1982in which more than 200 people were brutally murdered, today, Tuesday, March 3, 2020, he was deported from the United States and escorted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers back to Guatemala.
Upon his arrival, Jordán, who had been wanted in Guatemala since April 2000 for the crimes of murder and crimes against humanity, was handed over to Guatemalan police authorities and immediately arrested.
Guatemalan authorities allege that Jordan was one of 20 members of an elite Guatemalan army unit called Kaibiles that killed more than 200 unarmed men, women and children in the village of Las Dos Erres on December 6-8, 1982, during the regime of General Efrain Rios Montt.
The Kaibiles had gone to the remote village in the north of the country in search of leftist insurgents allegedly responsible for the ambush of an army convoy that resulted in the theft of military rifles. Upon arriving at the village, the Kaibiles, in search of the weapons, interrogated the residents. The soldiers then killed the villagers, starting with the children.
The victims were brutally beaten with sledgehammers and their bodies thrown into the village well. Other victims were strangled and many of the local girls and women were raped during two days of savage killings.
Jordan lied to obtain citizenship
According to ICE, court documents show that when Jordan applied to become a U.S. citizen in September 1996, he lied in his statement about whether he had ever served in the military or committed any crime for which he had not been arrested.
In July 1999, when he was interviewed for naturalization, Jordan lied under oath that the answers he had previously given on his application were true and correct. Jordan was sworn in as a U.S. citizen on August 25, 1999.
Jordan's arrest and prosecution in the United States
In May 2010, U.S. authorities arrested Jordan for failing to disclose on his naturalization application his prior military service and his alleged involvement in the murders.
The Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Department of Justice prosecuted the case. In July 2010, Jordan pleaded guilty and admitted that he was a Kaibil in the Guatemalan army who participated in the Dos Erres massacre.
Jordán also admitted that the first person he killed in Las Dos Erres was a baby, whom he killed by throwing him into the village well.
He was sentenced in September 2010 and served 10 years in federal prison. He also had his citizenship revoked for immigration fraud.
The investigation of this case was featured in the documentary "Finding Oscar", about the story of Oscar Alfredo Ramirez, a child who survived the massacre, and had been kidnapped and raised by one of the soldiers who murdered his entire family. The documentary was produced by Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall.
True reconciliation with the past requires the recovery of truth and justice. Respect for the #DDHH is key in the relationship between 🇺🇸. We support the courageous and necessary work to protect the dignity and #DDHH basic Guatemalan #TTransitionalJustice pic.twitter.com/kBvN77wRvb
- US Embassy Guatemala (@usembassyguate) March 3, 2020
ICE deported other participants in the Dos Erres massacre
Prior to Jordan, ICE deported other participants in the Dos Erres massacre to face war crimes charges in Guatemala:
Pedro Pimentel Rios, was deported in July 2011.. On March 12, 2012, he was found guilty for his role in the massacre and sentenced to 6,060 years in prison.
Santos López Alonzo, was deported to Guatemala on August 10, 2016.. He was sentenced on November 22, 2018 to 5,160 years in prison for his role in the brutal murder of the peasants.
Jorge Sosa, a participant in the massacre, will be deported after serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison. of the United States for making false statements in immigration proceedings and for unlawfully acquiring U.S. citizenship through naturalization.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has more than 180 active investigations concerning individuals who are alleged to have violated human rights. It is also tracking more than 1,625 possible cases of alleged human rights violators from 95 different countries.
The U.S. Department of Justice has also increased its efforts to enforce immigration law. creating the Denaturalization Section that will take away U.S. citizenship from those who have obtained it by fraud..
Unfortunately, there is a small group of bad apples in the immigrant community. The federal government will continue to focus on identifying and deporting the thousands of aliens who have committed crimes that make them deportable from the country.including war criminals, human rights violators, terrorists, murderers, kidnappers, sex offenders and drug traffickers.
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