In Immigration court this week, a judge is expected to decide whether to deport a man accused of committing war crimes in his native Guatemala. The decision is expected Friday.
Authorities in Guatemala said Juan Samayoa is responsible for dozens of murders, rapes and kidnappings during Guatemala’s civil war in the 1980s.
Samayoa, now 67 years old, has been living unauthorized in Providence since the early nineties. Now, the Department of Homeland Security wants to him so he can face war crimes charges.
Adrian Ventura is a Guatemalan community leader in New Bedford. “For me the best justice would be for Samayoa to be deported, because he has to pay for what he did. It would be unjust for this government to give asylum to this murderer,” said Ventura.
Samayoa claims he is innocent, and said he’d be tortured if he’s deported to Guatemala.
This report comes from the New England News Collaborative, eight public media companies, including Rhode Island Public Radio, joining to together to tell stories of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
