Kaibil Sosa to be Extradited to the US

Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes's attempt to block his extradition to the United States failed. On Friday, a Canadian court ruled that he should return to the United States to face charges of lying about prior military service on his immigration application.

Alberta's Chief Justice in Neil Wittmann ruled that Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes, 53, should be sent to the US for trial on charges of false statements made in government application forms to become a naturalized American citizen.

Sosa, who was arrested last January while visiting family in Alberta, is also wanted by the Guatemalan government on more serious charges.

In the 1980s he was a member of the military force known as the Kaibiles. In December 1982, Sosa allegedly led a patrol of about 20 men whose mission was to retrieve stolen arms, but instead massacred the entire village of Dos Erres. Most victims were killed with a sledgehammer and women and children were raped before being slain.

Witnesses reported that Sosa tossed a grenade and shot at victims who were thrown into a well, some still alive.

Sosa has thirty days to appeal the decision. Given the recent convictions of four other men involved in the Dos Erres massacre, there's little reason that the US should prosecute Sosa on immigration charges. Send him back to Guatemala to face the more serious charges.