Efraín Ríos Montt , the former Guatemalan dictator currently on trial facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity has denied all charges in his closing statement.
In an hour long rebuttal, Montt stated,
"I declare myself innocent… I never had the intention, the aim to destroy any national ethnic group… I am not genocidal."
He rejected the charge that he authorised plans to massacre indigenous people during rule from 1982-1983. Montt went on to claim that he had no control over troops who he said acted autonomously, adding,
"I never authorized, I never signed, I never ordered attacks against a race, an ethnic group or a religion. I never did!"
"I don't know what the squad leader did. I was the head of state.”
The prosecution though slammed Montt’s claims, presenting detailed plans of the chain of command, stating Lopez and his co-defendant, the former intelligence chief José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, must have had full knowledge of the military operations.
