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9 Chi. J. Int'l L. 79 (2008-2009)
Making the State Do Justice: Transnational Prosecutions and International Support fir Criminal Investigations in Post-Armed Conflict Guatemala

handle is hein.journals/cjil9 and id is 83 raw text is: Making the State Do Justice: Transnational Prosecutions and International Support for Criminal Investigations in Post-Armed Conflict Guatemala Naomi Roht-Arriaza* In November 2006, a local trial court in Guatemala's capital ordered the arrest of the country's ex-President, Oscar Mejia Victores, along with ex- Defense Minister Anibal Guevara, ex-Police Chief Germin Chupina, and ex- head of the Secret Police Pedro Arredondo on charges of genocide, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and terrorism.' The defendants, along with two others whose arrest warrants were not executed, were deeply implicated in the conceptualization and execution of a repressive state strategy that resulted in the deaths of two hundred thousand Guatemalans and the destruction of over four hundred villages. Although the arrest order was carried out through a Guatemalan court, it was issued by a Spanish judge,2 Santiago Pedraz. Judge Pedraz of Spain's Audiencia Nacional3 issued the warrants in July 2006, followed by formal extradition requests. He based Spanish jurisdiction over crimes committed by Guatemalans in Guatemala on a Spanish law that allows universal jurisdiction over certain international crimes. Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings College of the Law. The author is a member of the Legal Advisory Council of the Center for Justice and Accountability and has been a member of the legal team involved in the Spanish Genocide case litigation since 2006. Many thanks to Almudena Bernabeu, International Attorney at CJA and the heart of the legal team, for comments and inspiration. I Jos6 Elias, Tres militares y un civil Guatemaltecos, en el banquillo, El Pas (Spain) (Nov 14, 2006), available online at <http://www.elpais.com/articulo/intemacional/miltares/civil/guatemaltecos /banquiUo/elpporint/20061114elpepuint_4/Tes/> (visited Apr 5, 2008). 2 Ministerio de Judicia, Juzgado Central de Instrucci6n No. 1, Audiencia Nacional, Diligencias Previas 331/1999-10, Spain (July 7, 2006), available online at <http://www.i-dem.org/docs/ OrdendecapturaRiosMontt.doc> (visited Apr 5, 2008). 3 The Audiencia Nacional hears cases involving drug smuggling, terrorism, state corruption, and international crimes that cannot adequately be dealt with at the level of provinces and autonomous communities. Although divided into chambers, it is roughly equivalent to a US district court.