Hello El Salvador, it is Spain calling again
A few days ago, a Spanish court reissued arrest warrants for eighteen officers connected to the deaths of six Jesuits and their housekeeper and daughter in El Salvador in November 1989. The Spanish court issued a red alert in May 2011 (I can't believe it's been over four years already) but the Salvador Supreme Court of Justice interpreted the notice as only requiring that the Salvadoran government locate the officials, not actually arrest them (if I remember correctly). Most of those wanted by the Spanish court then took refuge on a military base in El Salvador.
In this re-issuance of arrest warrants, the court makes clear that these men are not only to be found but to be arrested. It's kind of hard to see the Salvadoran government moving against these men but one can hope. Salvadoran authorities have shown little interest in challenging the 1993 amnesty that (allegedly) protects individuals from all crimes committed during the Salvadoran civil war even though there have been similar, successful, attempts in neighboring Guatemala. Guatemala was helped by the deportation of individuals from US but in those cases Salvadoran authorities were looking for the men. El Salvador has had one retired general deported from the US and a second on the way. It's also possible, maybe even likely, that the US will extradite Montano to Spain for trial He is one of the men left off the recent request from Spain because he is known to be in the US.
The murders of the Jesuits was an egregious crime during the Salvadoran civil war. It wasn't the only terrible crime but hopefully the pursuit of justice in this case will open the door to justice in other cases as well.
In this re-issuance of arrest warrants, the court makes clear that these men are not only to be found but to be arrested. It's kind of hard to see the Salvadoran government moving against these men but one can hope. Salvadoran authorities have shown little interest in challenging the 1993 amnesty that (allegedly) protects individuals from all crimes committed during the Salvadoran civil war even though there have been similar, successful, attempts in neighboring Guatemala. Guatemala was helped by the deportation of individuals from US but in those cases Salvadoran authorities were looking for the men. El Salvador has had one retired general deported from the US and a second on the way. It's also possible, maybe even likely, that the US will extradite Montano to Spain for trial He is one of the men left off the recent request from Spain because he is known to be in the US.
The murders of the Jesuits was an egregious crime during the Salvadoran civil war. It wasn't the only terrible crime but hopefully the pursuit of justice in this case will open the door to justice in other cases as well.
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