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"State Department sanctions 13 suspected in 1989 slaying of Jesuits in El Salvador. Why now?"

Updated: Nov 27, 2023


The magazine America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture recently published an article titled "State Department sanctions 13 suspected in 1989 slaying of Jesuits in El Salvador. Why now?", authored by Kevin Clarke, analyzing the decision of the State Department to bar 13 former Salvadoran military officers and soldiers, and their family members, from entry into the United States.


The article mentions that The Guernica Group has "campaigned for the prosecution in Spain" of those behind the murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and the housekeeper’s daughter on 16 November 1989 by the Atlacatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Military. Relevantly, as recently announced, on 8 June 2020, the Spanish National Court will begin the trial of former Colonel and Vice-Minister of Public Security, Inocente Orlando Montano, for his alleged involvement as one of the key decision-makers behind the Jesuit killing.


The journalist contacted Almudena Bernabéu -co-founder and Executive Director of The Guernica Centre for International Justice-, who speculated that "Spanish arrest warrants may have figured in the State Department decision after one of the men named in the warrants applied for a U.S. visa".


Please read the original article, available at the following link.


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