Coordinated riots leave 31 dead in Guatemalan prisons News
Coordinated riots leave 31 dead in Guatemalan prisons

[JURIST] A series of almost simultaneous attacks and riots in seven of Guatemala's prisons Monday has left 31 inmates dead and many more injured. Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann [official website] said the gun and knife attacks at prisons around Southern Guatemala show the power that gangs have to spread terror. Vielmann says the inmates were able to plan the attacks by cellular phones, messages and guns passed by visitors to imprisoned gang members. Vielmann also pointed to the constant communication between gang members, saying that the Internet helps them coordinate actions not only within Guatemala, but also with El Salvador, Honduras and the US. AP has more. From Guatemala City, El Periodico has local coverage [in Spanish]

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org