PROVIDENCE, R.I. — 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. The 67-year-old has lived in Providence, Rhode Island, for 25 years.

He’s accused by the Guatemalan government of being involved in murders and other crimes against indigenous Mayans in the 1980s.

Samayoa’s lawyer argues he’ll be tortured if he returns to Guatemala. Several supporters had sent letters to the judge urging him to allow Samayoa to stay in the U.S.

He has 30 days to decide whether he’ll appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. </s> Accused Guatemalan war criminal Juan Alecio Samayoa Cabrera has been denied bail by an immigration judge in Boston.

Department of Homeland Security attorney Jennifer Mulcahy argued Judge Jose Sanchez did not have the jurisdiction to release Samayoa, citing a law that strips judges of the power to grant bond if the detainee is accused of committing certain war crimes, like torture.

The accusations against the 67-year-old stem from the Guatemalan Civil War, which ran from 1960 to 1996.

“The documentary evidence," Mulcahy said, "shows [Samayoa] did in fact participate himself, order others, and incited extrajudicial killings, as well as acts that would satisfy the definition of torture.”

Authorities in Guatemala say Samayoa is wanted in connection with scores of murders, rapes and kidnappings in 1982 and 1983.

By his own admission, Samayoa led a paramilitary squad of 500 men, siding with the government in a war against guerrilla revolutionaries. He fled Guatemala a decade after taking up arms, entered the U.S. illegally and was denied asylum during the early 2000s.

Samayoa has lived in Providence since the early 1990s, and he was arrested for immigration violations in October. He has refused to comment on the case to WBUR.

On Thursday morning in immigration court, Samayoa’s attorney, Hans Bremer, painted his client as a reasonable actor during a horrible war.

The paramilitary unit "was basically a self-defense group that the neighborhood formed to avoid being slaughtered during the civil war,” Bremer said. “And they protected one another. It was a horrible time, we all know it was a horrible time, your honor."

Bremer claimed it's hard to imagine someone who has led a "wonderful life" absent of violent crime in the U.S., could be capable of the allegations Samayoa faces.

Though Samayoa has been in and out of immigration court since the 1990s, Bremer said this is the first mention of war crimes.

"At no point ... until very recently, did the government ever even insinuate that he had been involved in anything that they're now insinuating," he said.

Judge Sanchez, however, agreed with the prosecution, ruling on Thursday that, due to the nature of the alleged crimes, he lacked the authority to grant Samayoa bond.

Sanchez will later decide whether Samayoa stays in the U.S., or if he leaves to face justice in Guatemala, where authorities say they await his arrival with an arrest warrant.

The next hearing in Samayoa's deportation proceedings is set for Jan. 9. </s> An immigration judge in Boston has ordered the deportation of a Guatemalan immigrant accused of atrocities during the country's civil war.

Five months after Juan Samayoa was arrested by immigration authorities, Judge Jose Sanchez ordered him deported to Guatemala.

Members of Samayoa's family declined to comment to WBUR after Thursday's hearing.

But members of the Guatemalan community in New Bedford and Providence — many of whom originate from the same area in Guatemala where Samayoa is from — were celebrating the judge's decision.

"This is a small spark of justice, for us," said Adrian Ventura, a Mayan community leader in New Bedford, speaking in Spanish in a telephone interview. "I'm usually not in favor of deportations ... but in this case it's good that they have made the decision to deport [Samayoa]. It poses a danger for us in Massachusetts for this man to be here."

Samayoa has been living in Providence since he entered the United States illegally in 1992. 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 acknowledges his role in the paramilitary group, but he denies involvement in any atrocities.

Guatemalan prosecutors say they are waiting for Samayoa with an arrest warrant.

One of the eight friends and family members with Samayoa at immigration court Thursday was Wolfgang Knoess of Warren, Rhode Island. Knoess said he's known Samayoa for 13 years, employing him as a landscaper — even setting aside land for Samayoa and his family to raise a garden. Knoess said he can't fathom how the hard-working, friendly man he knows could be responsible for the crimes the government claims he committed.

"The allegations don't match up, and for him to do it himself, it's just beyond belief," Knoess said. "He's just been the most honorable person I've ever met. ... He would work for you no matter what the weather."

Samayoa had petitioned to stay in the country on the grounds that he would be tortured upon returning to Guatemala. Judge Sanchez denied this petition.

Samayoa has until late next month to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. For the time being, Samayoa's attorney said he will remain in custody at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth. </s> 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. The 67-year-old has lived in Providence, Rhode Island, for 25 years.

He’s accused by the Guatemalan government of being involved in murders and other crimes against indigenous Mayans in the 1980s.

Samayoa’s lawyer argues he’ll be tortured if he returns to Guatemala. Several supporters had sent letters to the judge urging him to allow Samayoa to stay in the U.S.

He has 30 days to decide whether he’ll appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our Comment Policy before commenting. </s> GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan presidential candidate Manuel Baldizon, who is wanted on graft charges, has sought asylum in the United States after he was arrested while trying to enter the country, authorities from both nations said.

FILE PHOTO: Renewed Democratic Liberation (LIDER) party's presidential candidate Manuel Baldizon addresses supporters during a political rally in Villa Nueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, September 4, 2015. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez/File Photo

Baldizon, a wealthy businessman who ran for president twice, was detained at the airport in Miami on Saturday after flying in from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Yesenia Enriquez said.

Guatemala’s charges against Baldizon are part of a giant corruption probe involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht SA, according to the prosecutor’s office. The scandal has claimed high-level political scalps across Latin America.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested Baldizon following an Interpol alert resulting from a Guatemalan arrest warrant, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala said.

“The United States will follow established international protocols to return Mr. Baldizon to Guatemala to face justice,” the embassy said, referring all further questions to Guatemalan authorities.

Baldizon requested asylum in the United States, Guatemala’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which falls under Homeland Security’s jurisdiction, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Baldizon is wanted in Guatemala on charges of illicit association, bribery and money laundering, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The statement said former Infrastructure Minister and brief presidential candidate Alejandro Sinibaldi was also wanted on suspected corruption charges stemming from the Odebrecht investigation, and was now a fugitive.

The prosecutor’s office did not give any information on the link with Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying multimillion-dollar bribes across Latin America and has already spent $3.5 billion for settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland.

The prosecutor’s office carried out 10 raids on Saturday and arrested three people as part of the Odebrecht investigation, the statement added.

In 2016, the head of Guatemala’s special anti-corruption prosecutor’s office told Reuters he had already been investigating Odebrecht’s bribes to a government official, and President Jimmy Morales said his administration would check all of the company’s contracts.
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.