Guatemala ex-soldier sentenced to over 5000 years for 1982 massacre

A Guatemalan court has sentenced an ex-soldier deported from the United States to 5130 years for the 1982 massacre of 171 villagers.

The maximum anyone can be forced to serve in Guatemala is 50 years.

Santos Lopez Alonzo is accused of belonging to an elite squad known as the "Kaibiles", which carried out the killings on December 7, 1982, in the northern town of Dos



Erres.

The court declared the 66-year-old Lopez Alonso guilty of murder and crimes against humanity Wednesday (Thursday NZ time). He also kidnapped and adopted a 5-year-old boy whose family was murdered.

According to a UN truth commission, about 200,000 people were killed and another 45,000 disappeared during Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war. Most were killed by the army, though some were killed by leftist guerrillas.