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Former Bolivian President Faces US Trial for 2003 Killings

by Associated Press

   FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA --

   A former president of Bolivia and his defense minister are going on
   trial in a U.S. court over a lawsuit in which eight Bolivians claim
   their family members were killed in government slayings that left
   dozens of people dead in 2003.

   Jury selection begins Monday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale,
   Florida, in the case against former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez
   de Lozada, and his former defense minister, José Carlos Sánchez
   BerzaÃn, both of whom live in the U.S.

   In the lawsuit, the families of eight Bolivians who were killed claim
   the two officials planned to kill thousands of civilians to crush
   political opposition. The lawsuit was filed under the Torture Victim
   Protection Act, which authorizes suits in the U.S. for extrajudicial
   killings.

   The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.