What do you think about Reagan now?

From the New York Times

A Guatemalan judge has ordered a former military dictator,Efraín Ríos Montt, to appear in court on Thursday, the first step in a processthat could lead to his being tried on genocide charges and to a reopening ofthe darkest chapter in Guatemala’s brutal36-year civil war.

During General Ríos Montt’s 17-month rule in 1982 and 1983,the Guatemalan Army pursued a scorched-earth campaign in the Mayan highlandsthat included massacres that are regarded as among the most horrific in thewar. To flush out small bands of leftist guerrillas, soldiers entered Indianvillages and hunted down their inhabitants, slaughtering men, women andchildren indiscriminately.

How aboutduring the next Republican debate, the moderators ask what the candidates thinkabout Ronald Reagan's legacy given his relationship with Rios Montt, a man whoReagan claimed was "totally dedicated to democracy," "was a man of great personal integrity," and had been"getting a bum rap" by all those people criticizing him for humanrights abuses. Reagan said these things in December 1982 during the height ofthe genocide in Guatemala. While many people knew what was going on at thetime, the evidence today is incontrovertible.

Whilethey are at it, can they ask if they, like Reagan, will allow Central Americanelites to finance death squads against the Salvadoran people while they areliving the high-life in South Florida and perhaps even investing in Bain Capital?

For anyone who follows Latin America, this is nothing new. However, most Americans don't know much about Central American history or the US' role in the region during the 1970s and 1980s. It would be interesting to see if Mexican Mitt or The Historian know anything about the time period in question.