Accused war criminal on trial in U.S. for immigration fraud
Extradited from Alberta to U.S. last year, Jorge Sosa allegedly took part in 1982 massacre in Guatemala
A man accused of war crimes in Guatemala goes on trial in the United States Tuesday for allegedly making false immigration statements by not admitting his military past.
Jorge Sosa was arrested in Lethbridge in 2011 and has both Canadian and American citizenship.
He is accused of lying on his U.S. citizenship application.
A verdict is expected in a few weeks.
Sosa is also wanted in Guatemala, where he has been accused of taking part in a village massacre in 1982 in which 251 men, women and children were killed.
According to Matt Eisenbrandt of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, neither Canada nor the United States has pursued Sosa in relation to the war crimes accusations.
Eisenbrandt said Canada should have put him on trial for war crimes when he was arrested in this country.
“But they chose not to do so and instead sent him to the U.S. to face the fraud charges, which we think was a real shame because there was a chance to have him facing more severe penalties than what he'll face in the U.S.,” he said.
Sosa could spend ten years in an American prison if convicted of immigration fraud.
After that there is a chance the U.S. will send Sosa to Guatemala to face the war crimes accusations.