PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A judge has ordered a man accused of war crimes and human rights violations while serving as a paramilitary commander during Guatemala’s civil war to return to his native country. The Providence Journal reports that a judge in Boston on Thursday rejected Juan Alicio Samayoa Cabrera’s request to remain in the United States. One of the eight friends and family members with Samayoa at immigration court Thursday was Wolfgang Knoess of Warren, Rhode Island. He is accused by the Guatemalan government of involvement in an array of murders, rapes and kidnappings committed while he was the head of a 500-man paramilitary unit. Samayoa had petitioned to stay in the country on the grounds that he would be tortured upon returning to Guatemala. He has 30 days to decide whether he’ll appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
U.S. Department of Justice immigration Judge Jose A. Sanchez in Boston, Massachusetts, approves an extradition request from the government of Guatemala for Juan Alicio Samayoa Cabrera, who is wanted for trial for war crimes.