Democracy Now!

In 1982, investigative journalist Allan Nairn interviewed a Guatemalan general named "Tito" on camera during the height of the indigenous massacres. It turns out the man was actually Otto Pérez Molina, the current Guatemalan president. We air the original interview footage and speak to Nairn about the U.S. role backing the Guatemalan dictatorship. Last week, Nairn flew to Guatemala where he had been scheduled to testify in the trial of former U.S.-backed dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, the first head of state in the Americas to stand trial for genocide. Ríos Montt was charged in connection with the slaughter of more than 1,700 people in Guatemala’s Ixil region after he seized power in 1982. His 17-month rule is seen as one of the bloodiest chapters in Guatemala’s decades-long campaign against Maya indigenous people, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The trial took a surprising turn last week when Guatemala President Gen. Otto Pérez Molina was directly accused of ordering executions. A former military mechanic named Hugo Reyes told the court that Pérez Molina, then serving as an army major and using the name Tito Arias, ordered soldiers to burn and pillage a Maya Ixil area in the 1980s. Click here to hear our live update of the trial from Nairn in Guatemala City. [includes rush transcript]

A historic trial against former U.S.-backed Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity came to an abrupt end Thursday when an appeals court suspended the trial before a criminal court was scheduled to reach a verdict. Ríos Montt on was charged in connection with the slaughter of more than 1,700 people in Guatemala’s Ixil region after he seized power in 1982. His 17-month rule is seen as one of the bloodiest chapters in Guatemala’s decades-long campaign against Maya indigenous people, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Thursday’s decision is seen as a major blow to indigenous victims. Investigative journalist Allan Nairn reported last night Guatemalan army associates had threatened the lives of case judges and prosecutors and that the case had been annulled after intervention by Guatemala’s president, General Otto Pérez Molina. Ríos Montt was the first head of state in the Americas to stand trial for genocide. Nairn flew to Guatemala last week after he was called to testify in Ríos Montt’s trial. He was listed by the court as a "qualified witness" and was tentatively scheduled to testify on Monday. But at the last minute, Nairn was kept off the stand "in order," he was told, "to avoid a confrontation" with the president, General Pérez Molina, and for fear that if he took the stand, military elements might respond with violence. In the 1980s, Nairn extensively documented broad army responsibility for the massacres and was prepared to present evidence that personally implicated Pérez Molina, who was field commander during the very Mayan Ixil region massacres for which the ex-dictator, Ríos Montt, had been charged with genocide. [includes rush transcript]

• Boston Bombing Suspect, Officer Dead After Night of Chaos; Manhunt Underway for 2nd Suspect
• Violence Erupts Hours After FBI Releases Photos of Suspects
• Obama Speaks at Interfaith Service in Boston
• Teen Describes Fear After His Photo Appears on Cover of New York Post
• 2 People Subjected to Violent, Anti-Muslim Attacks
• Iraq: 32 Dead in Baghdad Blast Days Before Election
• Report: Texas Fertilizer Plant That Exploded Was Last Inspected by OSHA in 1985
• Venezuelan Officials to Expand Audit of Presidential Election Results
• Sen. Manchin Blames NRA for Failure of Background Check Measure
• House Passes CISPA Despite Obama Veto Threat

A new film directed by Robert Greenwald looks at four whistleblowers who had their lives practically destroyed after they went to the press with evidence of government wrongdoing. They are Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, Franz Gayl and Thomas Tamm. Whistleblowers have come under unprecedented attack by the Obama administration. Evoking the Espionage Act of 1917, the administration has pressed criminal charges against no fewer than six government employees, more than all previous presidential administrations combined. In the film, Greenwald also interviews government oversight experts and investigative journalists who warn about the chilling effect prosecutions may have on potential whistleblowers and the journalists who help them. Click to watch Part 2 of the interview. [includes rush transcript]

CNN is coming under criticism after it falsely reported authorities had arrested a Boston Marathon bombing suspect, whom it had earlier described as a "dark-skinned male." Both claims turned out to be wrong. Earlier in the week the New York Post claimed a Saudi man was in custody for the blasts, only to later see authorities later say the man was a victim of the marathon attack. We discuss the corporate media’s coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing with two guests: Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Peter Hart, activism director at the media watchdog group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. [includes rush transcript]

In the wake of the deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant, reporter Mike Elk of In These Times magazine joins us to discuss the plant’s safety record and the troubling regulatory environment for workplaces in Texas and nationwide. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not inspected West Fertilizer Co. in five years, and the EPA fined the plant in 2006 for failing to have a risk management plan. Elk says OSHA is understaffed and underfunded nationwide, across all industries. [includes rush transcript]

An unknown number of people have been killed, and well over 100 injured, in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. The incident began with a smaller fire that ignited chemical tanks, causing an explosion that shot flames high into the air and leveled surrounding buildings for blocks in each direction. A police official estimated five to 15 people have died, but the casualty count is expected to rise as day breaks. One initial estimate put the death toll at between 60 to 70 people. Local officials say around a half dozen volunteer firefighters who first arrived on the scene are now missing. Toxic fumes rising from the rubble of the plant have raised health concerns, and about half the town has been evacuated, including a nursing home. We go to Texas to speak with reporter Jay Hicks of the Waco television station KWTX, and Tony Dudik, a local resident who volunteered aid at a triage center three miles from the blast. "It was devastation beyond description," Dudik says. [includes rush transcript]

• Massive Blast Causes Casualties at Texas Fertilizer Plant
• Authorities Spot At Least 1 Suspect in Boston Marathon Videos
• Senate Kills Gun Reform with Defeat of Every Key Measure
• Obama Decries "Shameful Day" After Senate Defeat of Gun Control
• 4 Dems Join Republicans to Defeat Gun Reforms
• GOP Bid to Override Concealed Carry Laws Fails
• Gun Violence Survivor Removed from Senate Gallery After Yelling "Shame on You"
• Giffords Denounces Senate for Blocking Gun Control
• Mississippi Resident Detained for Ricin Letters
• Supreme Court Rejects Human Rights Cases Against Foreign Corporations
• Wife of Jailed Texas Official Says Husband Killed Prosecutors
• Maduro Blasts Kerry for Rejecting Venezuelan Election Win
• Palestinians Stage Prisoners Day Rallies
• Israeli Military Court Jails Palestinian-American Teen for Throwing Rocks
• Military Appeals Court Rejects Secrecy Challenge in Manning Trial

Authorities are hunting for clues behind Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured 176. According to The Boston Globe, 70 victims remained in Boston hospitals Tuesday night, including 24 in critical condition. FBI officials say the two bombs were probably built in six-liter pressure cookers filled with nails and small ball bearings. The bombs were then hidden in bags left on the ground. Meanwhile, more information is coming out about the victims: eight-year-old Martin Richard, who was seen in a photo holding a sign that read, "No more hurting people. Peace."; 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, a restaurant worker; and Lu Lingzi, a Chinese national attending graduate school at Boston University. We go to Boston to speak with Steve Brown, an anchor at the public radio station WBUR. [includes rush transcript]

An independent bipartisan task force has concluded that it is "indisputable" the United States engaged in torture and the George W. Bush administration bore responsibility. The 11-member Task Force on Detainee Treatment was convened by The Constitution Project after President Obama chose not to support a national commission to investigate the counterterrorism programs. It was co-chaired by Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman from Arkansas, NRA consultant and undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. The report concludes that never before in U.S. history had there been "the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after 9/11 directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody." While the report focused largely on the Bush administration after 9/11, it also criticizes a lack of transparency under Obama. We speak with Laura Pitter, counterterrorism adviser at Human Rights Watch. [includes rush transcript]

Venezuelan President-elect Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States and opposition of planning a coup against him after seven government supporters were killed and 60 people were injured in clashes after the election. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has certified Maduro’s victory, but opposition candidate Henrique Capriles is refusing to accept the results. The Venezuelan opposition says it has collected more than 3,200 reports of problems and campaign violations that could have swayed the vote, but the Union of South American Nations said Sunday’s election was free and fair. Several Latin American nations have already congratulated Maduro on his victory, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua. We go to Caracas to speak to Alex Main of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He served as an election monitor in Venezuela. [includes rush transcript]

• FBI: Boston Marathon Bombs Built with Pressure Cookers, Filled with Shrapnel
• Remaining Boston Marathon Fatalities Identified
• 8-Year-Old Victim Carried Sign Urging "No More Hurting People"
• Obama to Attend Memorial in Boston
• Saudi Victim Ruled Out as Suspect
• U.S. Drone Strike Kills 5 in Pakistan
• Electoral Council Rules Out Venezuelan Recount as Tensions Grow
• Authorities Intercept Ricin-Laden Letter to Senator Wicker
• Senate to Hold Votes on Gun Amendments; Background Check Measure Lacks Support
• Groups File Challenge to Arkansas Abortion Ban
• Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Mosque Fire
• Environmental Groups Challenge State Dept. on Keystone Review
• U.N.: Over 1 in 4 Children "Stunted" by Malnutrition
• New Zealand Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage

As the twin bombings hit the Boston Marathon, deadlier blasts also ripped through the densely populated Somali capital of Mogadishu. Hours after car bombs and suicide bombers killed at least 16 people outside a court complex on Sunday, another car bomb detonated and killed Turkish nationals. In Somalia, unlike Boston, there were no highly trained emergency personnel on the scene or top-notch hospitals to treat victims. Since 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, aid groups fled the country, and violence routinely interrupts everyday life. However, one Somali physician has made it her life mission to care for those worst hit by violence, poverty and sickness. Dr. Hawa Abdi is known as "the Mother Teresa of Somalia." In her new memoir, "Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman—90,000 Lives Changed," Dr. Abdi explains why she established a hospital, school and shelter for internally displaced people just outside the war-torn capital of Mogadishu. Tens of thousands of displaced Somalis still live there today. She also recounts the difficulties she has encountered as one of the few female physicians in Somalia and her harrowing experience of being kidnapped by militants. Dr. Abdi joins us along with her daughter, Dr. Deqo Mohamed. [includes rush transcript]

Sports editor Dave Zirin of The Nation magazine responds to the Boston Marathon bombings and discusses the race’s historic significance. "First, prayers for the people in Boston, Baghdad and Mogadishu who are suffering today," Zirin said. "Second, I think people have to realize that an attack on the Boston Marathon is really an attack not on Boston or the United States, but on the world." [includes rush transcript]

Doctors in Boston have reportedly carried out at least 10 amputations on bombing victims after the attack at the Boston Marathon. A trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital said many patients suffered shrapnel wounds, either from the bombs directly or from the resulting debris. We continue our coverage of the attack with two guests: Dr. Michael Gibson, a doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who treated bombing victims on Monday and whose son ran in the marathon, and Charles Pierce, a Boston-based reporter and lead writer for Esquire.com’s politics blog. [includes rush transcript]

Peace activist Carlos Arredondo has come to be known as "the man in the hat" and widely described as a hero for a viral image of him in a cowboy hat pinching the severed artery of a bloodied, wheelchair-bound victim in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Arredondo is no stranger to tragedy: He became a prominent opponent of the Iraq War after his son, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in Iraq in 2004. His surviving son, Brian, committed suicide in 2011. Carlos and his wife Mélida, join us to describe witnessing the Boston Marathon bombings and the immediate response to aid the victims. [includes rush transcript]

The toll from Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon stands at three dead and at least 144 wounded, 17 critically. The two blasts occurred within a 13-second span and just 100 yards apart near the finish line at the historic race. Doctors have reportedly carried out at least 10 amputations on bombing victims, with many patients suffering shrapnel wounds either from the bombs directly or from the resulting debris. It was the worst bombing in the United States since the Oklahoma City attack of 1995. No arrests have been made, and no one has claimed responsibility. [includes rush transcript]

• 3 Dead, Scores Wounded as Two Bomb Blasts Hit Boston Marathon
• Dozens Dead in Wave of Bombings Across Iraq
• Somalia: At Least 30 Killed in Militant Attacks
• Judge Denies Relief Motion from Hunger-Striking Guantánamo Prisoner
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Iran
• Landmark Report Confirms U.S. Tortured Prisoners After 9/11
• Report: Reform Bill Will Require Undocumented Immigrants to Pay Thousands in Fines
• Venezuelan Opposition Candidate Continues to Challenge Maduro Victory
• Syrian Opposition Says 30 Children Killed in Gov’t Air Strike
• Report: Human Trafficking Increases in Europe
• Obama Signs Bill Gutting Transparency Provisions in Insider Trading Law
• Mississippi’s Only Abortion Clinic to Stay Open for Now
• Students, Officials Condemn School-to-Prison Pipeline in NYC
• New York Times Wins Pulitzers for Coverage of Abuses by Apple, Wal-Mart
• Today Marks 50th Anniversary of MLK’s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

Today is April 15th, Tax Day, when millions of Americans scramble to file their income taxes on time. It’s also a day when people across the country are planning to protest the use of tax dollars to fund war. In dozens of communities across the country, demonstrations are planned at IRS offices, federal buildings and weapons factories to protest ongoing massive U.S. government expenditures on drones, missiles and bombs. According to a new pie chart released by the War Resisters League, 47 percent of federal taxes goes toward war in some form or the other. To protest paying for lethal weapons, some Americans are taking a stand by personally refusing to fund the military. These tax resisters are risking jail time by withholding all or a portion of their federal income taxes, and instead redirecting the money to humanitarian efforts. We speak with Ed Hedemann of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. He has redirected the federal portion of his tax bill to nonprofits and humanitarian efforts for 40 years. [includes rush transcript]

Hugo Chávez’s former foreign minister and vice president, Nicolás Maduro, narrowly won Sunday’s election to fill out the remainder of Chávez’s term following his death from cancer last month. The National Electoral Council of Venezuela says Maduro received 50.7 percent of the vote, besting opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski’s 49.1 percent. The race was far closer than the contest in October when Chávez beat Capriles by 11 percentage points. We host a debate between Rory Carroll, author of "Comandante: Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela," and Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. [includes rush transcript]