Guatemalan man sought in massacre faces immigration charge
BOSTON (AP) — A Guatemalan man wanted for his role in a massacre of indigenous Guatemalans in the 1980s is being sentenced for illegal reentry into the U.S.
Francisco Cuxum Alvarado is slated to be sentenced Friday in Boston federal court after pleading guilty to the charge in September.
Cuxum Alvarado, 64, was found in Waltham, Massachusetts, in April after he previously entered the country illegally in 2004 and was ordered to leave.
According to prosecutors, Cuxum Alvarado admitted he was a member of a civil militia that helped government forces remove Maya Achi people from the Rio Negro area in Guatemala and is suspected of involvement in a massacre in his home country. Authorities say the Guatemalan government charged him last year with crimes against humanity for participating in the mass sexual assault of Maya Achi women.
Guatemalan authorities obtained an INTERPOL notice alerting law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and arrest him.
Cuxum Alvarado faces up to two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the illegal reentry charge. He's expected to be extradited to Guatemala to face charges there after completing the sentence.
