Legal proceedings advance in Guatemala massacre case and Costa Rican drug investigation

In Guatemala, a hearing to determine security measures for Nicolás Orrego y Orrego, the former mayor of El Chol, has been postponed. Orrego is linked to the 1982 Rancho Bejuco massacre in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. Reports from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) indicate that Orrego suffers from a degenerative disease that prevents him from fully understanding the criminal proceedings against him. The hearing was delayed because an Achí language interpreter, required for the victims involved in the case, was not present.

In Costa Rica, the Public Ministry has requested one year of preventive detention for several individuals involved in the ‘Leviathan’ case. The investigation targets an organization allegedly responsible for contaminating shipping containers with cocaine to facilitate smuggling through APM Terminals in Moín, Limón. The suspects, including Melanie Fabiola Bell Ramírez, Joseph Eduardo Casanova Duartes, and Alexander Fernando Chinchilla Murcia, surrendered to authorities in late July.