“It feels really good to know that the decision I made for NYU to use my brother was the right decision and it’s helping people,” said Mary Miller-Duffy, of Newburgh, New York.
Judge Marling Mayela González Arrivillaga said there was no doubt about the women’s testimony.In 2022, five other paramilitaries – men from the area trained by soldiers to help root out insurgents – were convicted of raping women and sentenced to 30 years in prison. No soldiers have been tried for the acts.
Guatemala’s civil war pitted the army and police against leftist rebels. It ended with the signing of peace accords in 1996.Of the 36 women who originally came forward, seven have died. The youngest was 19 when she was attacked.Among the women who testified at this trial, was Pedrina Ixpatá. She is 63 now, but was 21 when she said she was assaulted. Félix Tum Ramírez, one of those convicted, had pointed her out to soldiers earlier in the day in the plaza.
“At 9 at night they came to take me (from the house) and took me to a big water tank. They pushed by head in the tank and when I was about to drown, let me out and asked me questions, but I said I didn’t know anything,” Ixpatá said.Later, she was taken to a room on the local military base where she said soldiers raped her. “I couldn’t take it. My whole body hurt,” Ixtapá said. She got pregnant, aborted and wasn’t able to have children. Tum Ramírez was convicted of raping two women and for signaling four women to be raped by others.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Ixpatá has done.
One of the accused, Pedro Sánchez, told the court Friday before the ruling was handed down that he was not involved. He was convicted of raping two women.Some contamination may even be expected, the FDA acknowledges
“It is economically impractical to grow, harvest or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects,” the agency wrote.Both the USDA and FDA ask companies to promptly notify them when food is potentially contaminated with objects that may harm consumers. The agencies then determine whether recalls are necessary. Most recalls are voluntary and initiated by the companies, though the agencies can request or mandate the action.
Regulators said the Banquet issue was discovered when someone reported an oral injury after eating chicken strips. ConAgra Brands Inc., which owns Banquet, declined to comment beyond the firm’s news release. Trader Joe’s wouldn’t elaborate on how material got into the foods that led to its recent recalls.Detection of unwanted objects has vastly improved in the past several years, said Keith Belk, director of the Center for Meat Safety and Quality at Colorado State University. Large manufacturers use magnets, metal detectors, X-ray devices and other technology to find unwanted materials in their products.