YUMÁN GARRIDO TO BE PROSECUTED

Guatemala, April 13, 2011. In the Bus Nicaragua case, the Judge of the First Court of the First Instance for Criminal Matters, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment of Guatemala (a court authorized to hear high-risk cases) ruled to prosecute Luis Alberto Yumán Garrido on charges of murder, criminal association and conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs.

Yumán Garrido is charged with murdering 15 Nicaraguans and one Dutch national in Zacapa Department whilst they were travelling on a bus en route from Nicaragua to Guatemala on November 7, 2008.

Yumán Garrido was arrested on April 5 in a café in Chiquimulilla, Santa Rosa Department by National Civil Police (PNC) officers and Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) officials. Two people have already been convicted in this case and another two individuals are set to stand trial.

VÍCTOR RIVERA CASE: LINKS CONFIRMED
Today, in the trial of the murder of the former advisor to the Ministry of the Interior, Víctor Rivera, a witness presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) confirmed the ties between some of the accused individuals and Jorge Mario Paredes Córdova (alias "el gordo Paredes")—a possible mastermind of the facts.

The witness said the accused individuals Aurelio Ruiz, César Augusto Paiz Córdova, Juan Antonio Vásquez (alias "maco"), Nelson Oswaldo Milián Girón, Israel Betancourth, and Werner Gómez Sandoval (alias "lupe") worked for "the boss Jorge Mario"—that is to say, Paredes Córdova. The witness also said that these individuals worked for Paredes Córdova "until Jorge Mario got into trouble and was caught".

Furthermore, a former DAIA police officer confirmed that in his investigation he had established that Jorge Mario Paredes was the head of a drug trafficking organization with international ties. However, he added that he did not have sufficient evidence to "catch him with a shipment" and prosecute him. He added that with structures of this type it is normal for family members to participate and security personnel are often hired.

The trial will continue on Friday at 8:30.