43

 / The long road to justice

Pz

P

Two days later, with chains around his hands and feet 
and escorted by three security guards, he appeared in an 
extradition hearing in Calgary.  Orantes Sosa had obtained 
American and Canadian citizenship and currently faces 
charges in the US for having lied to obtain his citizenship 
permit when he ticked “no” next to the questions asking 
whether he had ever been accused of human rights violations 
in his country of origin and whether he had served in the 
armed forces. 

Two other Kaibil instructors: Gilberto Jordán and Pedro 
Pimentel Ríos, were arrested on the same day. Jordán, who 
had worked as a cook in California since 1990 was found 
guilty by a Florida court of lying in order to obtain his US 
citizenship and is currently serving a ten year prison sentence.

Pimentel Ríos had been living illegally in the US for almost 
20 years and worked in a garment factory in Santa Ana, 
California. 

The Guatemalan government has requested the extradition 
of the three Kaibil soldiers but before they can return to their 
country of origin, Orantes Sosa will be tried for breaking 
American immigration laws and Jordán will have to finish 
his sentence in the Miami jail where he is currently held.

XVII

Petronila López Méndez looked intently at the man that 
29 years ago had confessed that her husband and two 
children had been killed by “a cursed troop that came from 
La Pólvora”. He was no longer the cocky 23-year-old that 
had deliberately tried to confuse the women of Las Cruces, 
telling them different versions of what had happened in Dos 
Erres.