The Justice Department in El Salvador issued a provisional arrest warrant against former President Alfredo Cristiani, who governed between 1989 and 1994, with unknown whereabouts, as well as against four former deputies, for allegedly having covered up those responsible for the massacre known as El Mozote. The events that occurred in 1981, during the civil war of the Central American nation, which lasted twelve years, marked one of the greatest tragedies recorded in the country and in Latin America.
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Between impunity and silence. The El Mozote massacre marked part of the tragic history of El Salvador and Latin America.
Around a thousand people were murdered by the Salvadoran Army, specifically by the Atlácatl battalion, according to investigations, in several rural towns between December 9 and 12, 1981, when the Central American country was experiencing civil war.
El Salvador began an armed conflict on January 10, 1981, which would last a decade. Then, the military waged a war against militants of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).
But within the framework of an alleged counterinsurgency operation, planned and executed by the State, a consecutive series of massive, collective and indiscriminate executions of civilians were carried out in the El Mozote hamlet, the La Joya canton, the Ranchería hamlets, and Los Toriles. and Jocote Amarillo, as well as in the Cerro Pando canton and in a cave in Cerro Ortiz.
More than 40 years after the tragedy, the case has been marked by impunity, according to relatives of the victims and civil organizations.
The trial has stalled due to the opacity of the judges in charge, according to human rights organizations. Judge Mirtala Portillo took over the case in 2021 and the victims' lawyer, David Morales, has complained about the “opacity” with which she is carrying out the process.
Why is former president Alfredo Cristiani accused of covering up the massacre?
According to the authorities' resolution, former president Alfredo Cristiani, now 76, and several former deputies covered up those allegedly responsible for the massacre by promoting the amnesty, approved in 1993 and repealed in 2016.
And after twelve years of conflict, on January 16, 1992, the Peace Agreement, known as the Chapultepec Accords, was signed, which put an end to hostilities and the guerrilla groups laid down their weapons.
In this context, the Legislative Assembly issued the so-called “General Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace”, which had the approval of then President Cristiani for it to come into force.
It was not until 2016 when the Supreme Court repealed the Amnesty Law and proceedings began against those allegedly responsible.
“It is not progress, but delay”
Although an investigative court in El Salvador ordered the capture of former President Cristiani and four former deputies, on Saturday, December 23, for allegedly covering up the accused military personnel, what would seem a small victory on the path for truth, justice and reparation, was not received positively by several organizations.
“While the authorities continue to delay this process, the number of victims who die without having had access to Justice continues to grow,” claimed the human rights organization, Cristosal.
Activists claim that in the case of former deputies, “The resolution does not individualize the specific behaviors that each of them would have carried out.” (…) Nor does it allude to the alleged responsibility of the deputies who carried out the bill, nor of those who voted in favor of its approval.”
#JusticeforElMozote | 🧐The resolution on the massacre of El Mozote and surrounding places is one more strategy to delay a process that has been waiting for justice for 42 years. While authorities continue to delay this process, the number of victims who die without… pic.twitter.com/UFzlLuUJsS
— Cristosal (@Cristosal) December 23, 2023
Likewise, Cirstosal regrets that the resolution does not order the arrest of the soldiers accused of participating in the serious crimes perpetrated, “despite the solid evidence against them that appears in the process.”
“In this way, the investigating judge ignores the responsibility of the military chain of command of the time, from the Minister of Defense to the officers of the Atlácatl battalion,” they denounced.
Morales also reacted to Portilla's resolution and assured that it does not mean progress, “but rather a delay that favors perpetrators.”
“For the military who ordered the murder of a thousand people and the rape of dozens of women and girls, there is no arrest. Nor against those who hide military archives,” he reproached.
With Reuters and EFE
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