Monsignor Romero and the impunity of a crime

Monsignor Romero and the impunity of a crime

The 1993 report of the UN Truth Commission found that on Monday, March 24, 1980, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Romero, was killed by a professional assassin while he was celebrating Mass.

The report found that Major Roberto D’Aubuisson, now deceased, founder of the Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena, right), was responsible for issuing the order to assassinate the prelate, a party for which he was a deputy and presidential candidate.

The planning and execution of the murder was attributed to Álvaro Saravia, the only defendant in the current criminal case and with a warrant, Captain Eduardo Ávila, as well as Fernando Sagrera and Mario Molina.

The case has not been closed after 43 years, while Salvadorans believe that impunity prevails in a country that has seen many massacres such as that of El Mozote and the killing of four journalists from the Netherlands in recent years, despite popular pressure without progress have stayed. .

Tutela Legal’s lawyer, Alejandro Díaz, assures that despite the fact that the case was reopened in 2017, the Attorney General’s Office shows no progress in the investigation, even though the case is already at the investigation stage.

Ovidio Mauricio, President of Tutela Legal, said that the Fourth Investigatory Court had already issued the arrest warrant for Captain Álvaro Saravia, one of the main suspects in the crime, but that neither the prosecutor nor the police showed any interest in executing it.

“We know it’s very close to land, in a Central American country, but I don’t know if the authorities have shown the slightest interest in locating it. That shows the kind of justice we have in our country, which leaves a lot to be desired,” Mauricio was quoted as saying by the newspaper La Prensa Grafica.

Today, on the 43rd anniversary of his physical departure, San Romero’s sermon and message remain timely, and many believe that if he were present his message would be that people should not be abused.

jcm/lb