Former Uruguayan minister gets 20 years for murder

Montevideo (Uruguay), April 22 (IANS/EFE) A former foreign minister of Uruguay has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the “politically motivated” abduction and murder of a Venezuelan teacher, court officials have said.

Juan Carlos Blanco, who was minister during the 1973-1985 military regime, was Wednesday found guilty of aggravated homicide with special circumstances in the 1976 death of Elena Quinteros by judge Juan Carlos Fernandez Lecchini, they said.

Fernandez had rejected the forcible disappearance charge brought against Blanco in favour of the more serious accusation of homicide.

Quinteros was last seen June 28, 1976, when Uruguayan security forces allegedly abducted her from the Venezuelan Embassy in Montevideo, where she had gone to request political asylum.

The incident led to a nine-year diplomatic strain between Montevideo and Caracas, which resumed ties only after Uruguay held a democratic election in 1985.

Blanco has been behind bars since 2006 for his role in the May 1976 killings of Uruguayan lawmakers Zelmar Michelini and Hector Gutierrez Ruiz.

Former president Juan Maria Bordaberry was also convicted for those murders.

–IANS/EFE