Latest news with #AméricaLatina
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Guatemala jails ex-paramilitaries for 40 years over rapes during civil war
A top Guatemalan court has sentenced three former paramilitaries to 40 years each in prison after they were found guilty of raping six Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983, one of the bloodiest periods of the Central American nation's civil war. The conviction and sentencing on Friday mark another significant step towards attaining justice for the Maya Achi Indigenous women, who were sexually abused by pro-government armed groups, during a period of extreme bloodshed between the military and left-wing rebels that left as many as 200,000 dead or missing. Former Civil Self-Defence Patrol members Pedro Sanchez, Simeon Enriquez and Felix Tum were found guilty of crimes against humanity for sexually assaulting six members of the Maya Achi group, Judge Maria Eugenia Castellanos said. 'The women recognised the perpetrators, they recognised the places where the events took place. They were victims of crimes against humanity,' she said, praising the women's bravery in coming to court to testify on repeated occasions. 'They are crimes of solitude that stigmatise the woman. It is not easy to speak of them,' the judge said. Indigenous lawyer Haydee Valey, who represented the women, said the sentence was 'historic' because it finally recognised the struggle of civil war survivors who had demanded justice for decades. Several Maya Achi women in the courtroom applauded at the end of the trial, where some dressed in traditional attire and others listened to the verdict through an interpreter. One of the victims, a 62-year-old woman, told the AFP news agency she was 'very happy' with the verdict. Pedro Sanchez, one of the three men convicted, told the court before the sentencing, 'I am innocent of what they are accusing me of.' But Judge Marling Mayela Gonzalez Arrivillaga, another member of the all-women, three-panel court, said there was no doubt about the women's testimony against the suspects. The convictions were second in the Maya Achi women's case against former military personnel and paramilitaries. The first trial, which took place in January 2022, saw five former paramilitaries sentenced to 30 years in prison. Advocacy group Impunity Watch said the case 'highlights how the Guatemalan army used sexual violence as a weapon of war against Indigenous women' during the civil conflict. In 2016, a Guatemalan court sentenced two former military officers for holding 15 women from the Q'eqchi community, who are also of Maya origin, as sex slaves. Both officers were sentenced to a combined 360 years in prison.
Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Guatemala jails ex-paramilitaries for 40 years over rapes during civil war
A top Guatemalan court has sentenced three former paramilitaries to 40 years each in prison after they were found guilty of raping six Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983, one of the bloodiest periods of the Central American nation's civil war. The conviction and sentencing on Friday mark another significant step towards attaining justice for the Maya Achi Indigenous women, who were sexually abused by pro-government armed groups, during a period of extreme bloodshed between the military and left-wing rebels that left as many as 200,000 dead or missing. Former Civil Self-Defence Patrol members Pedro Sanchez, Simeon Enriquez and Felix Tum were found guilty of crimes against humanity for sexually assaulting six members of the Maya Achi group, Judge Maria Eugenia Castellanos said. 'The women recognised the perpetrators, they recognised the places where the events took place. They were victims of crimes against humanity,' she said, praising the women's bravery in coming to court to testify on repeated occasions. 'They are crimes of solitude that stigmatise the woman. It is not easy to speak of them,' the judge said. Indigenous lawyer Haydee Valey, who represented the women, said the sentence was 'historic' because it finally recognised the struggle of civil war survivors who had demanded justice for decades. Several Maya Achi women in the courtroom applauded at the end of the trial, where some dressed in traditional attire and others listened to the verdict through an interpreter. One of the victims, a 62-year-old woman, told the AFP news agency she was 'very happy' with the verdict. Pedro Sanchez, one of the three men convicted, told the court before the sentencing, 'I am innocent of what they are accusing me of.' But Judge Marling Mayela Gonzalez Arrivillaga, another member of the all-women, three-panel court, said there was no doubt about the women's testimony against the suspects. The convictions were second in the Maya Achi women's case against former military personnel and paramilitaries. The first trial, which took place in January 2022, saw five former paramilitaries sentenced to 30 years in prison. Advocacy group Impunity Watch said the case 'highlights how the Guatemalan army used sexual violence as a weapon of war against Indigenous women' during the civil conflict. In 2016, a Guatemalan court sentenced two former military officers for holding 15 women from the Q'eqchi community, who are also of Maya origin, as sex slaves. Both officers were sentenced to a combined 360 years in prison.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil economic growth stays strong, supported by farm output, investments
BRASILIA, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy posted robust growth in the first quarter despite climbing interest rates as fixed investments, household consumption and strong farm output underpinned activity, pushing inflation to a two-year high. Gross domestic product in Latin America's largest economy rose 1.4% in the January-to-March period from the previous quarter, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, in line with the growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. GDP expanded 2.9% from a year earlier, below expectations for a 3.2% increase. On the supply side, agriculture stood out with a 12.2% gain from the previous quarter, fueled by a bumper soybean harvest. Services, which make up roughly 70% of Brazil's economy, expanded 0.3% amid a tight labor market, while industrial output slipped 0.1%. On the demand side, investments measured by gross fixed capital formation stood out with a 3.1% rise from the prior quarter. Household consumption also contributed with 1.0% growth, supported by measures from leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to boost disposable income, including a minimum wage hike. Government spending increased by 0.1%. The strong economic performance came despite the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening, which has raised the benchmark Selic interest rate by 425 basis points since September, to a nearly 20-year high of 14.75%. The government expects soaring interest rates to weigh more on economic activity in the second half of the year, projecting GDP growth to slow to 2.4% in 2025 from 3.4% last year.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's central government posts higher-than-expected primary surplus in April
SAO PAULO, May 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's central government recorded a primary budget surplus of 17.8 billion reais ($3.1 billion) in April, Treasury data showed on Thursday, above the 15.9-billion-real surplus projected by economists polled by Reuters. The figure represents an increase from the 11.6-billion-real surplus in the same period of last year, driven by higher tax collection, as well as a jump in revenues coming from dividends and the exploration of natural resources, specially oil. Year-to-date, the central government primary surplus reached 72.4 billion reais, more than double the 31.8-billion-real surplus posted a year earlier. The improvement has been helped by a favorable base effect, as the government chose to push a hefty bill for court-ordered payments to the second half of the year, whereas those payments were made in the first half in 2024. In the 12-month period, the primary deficit stood at 5.3 billion reais, or 0.02% of gross domestic product (GDP). Speaking at a press conference, Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said the central government will probably post a 12-month primary surplus in May. The government targets a zero primary deficit this year, with a tolerance margin of 0.25% of GDP, meaning it can record a deficit of up to 31 billion reais and still comply with fiscal rules. ($1 = 5.6574 reais)
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Bank of Mexico's rate decision marked by trade policy pressures, minutes show
MEXICO CITY, May 29 (Reuters) - All of the Bank of Mexico's five governing board members agreed in the monetary authority's most recent rate decision that the period has been marked by high uncertainty due to trade policy announcements worldwide, minutes published on Thursday showed. "Some activity indicators surprised to the downside partly due to the effects of trade uncertainty at the global level," said the Mexican central bank. Most board members also noted that changes in trade policy have added significant uncertainty to the global economic outlook. Adding to global concerns, a U.S. trade court on Wednesday blocked most of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, arguing he had overstepped his authority. Banxico, as the central bank is known, slashed its growth forecast for Mexico's economy this year to 0.1%, from its previous estimate of 0.6%, citing sluggish domestic activity and uncertainty related to U.S. trade policy, according to its quarterly report published on Wednesday.
