Former Generals Convicted in Florida

Some of the atrocities of the Salvadoran civil war were played out in a West Palm Beach, FL, courtroom in July, during the civil trial of two retired Salvadoran generals who were accused of being legally and morally responsible for the torture, rape and murder of civilians carried out by government troops under their command during the '80s in their homeland.

On 23 July, a federal jury found José Guillermo García (69, former Minister of Defense) and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova (64, former head of the National Guard) guilty of knowing that such atrocities were being committed by their troops and failing to prevent them. The case was brought under the '92 Torture Victims Protection Act that provides survivors of military abuse with a legal means of suing for injuries suffered. This is the first time that a U.S. court has found anyone from El Salvador liable for atrocities committed during the nation’s most recent civil war.

Lead defense attorney James Green stated, “Having live testimony from a torture victim is about as powerful a testimony as you can get anywhere, anytime.”

Such human rights abuses were commonplace during the 12-year civil war that ended in '92, in which more than 75,000 people were killed. A Truth Commission found that the military and associated death squads were responsible for 85% of the abuses committed during the armed conflict. The U.S. government supported the military dictatorship that ruled El Salvador at the time and provided direct military assistance under the justification that it was helping to stop the spread of worldwide Communism.

The civilian plaintiffs—three Salvadoran exiles living in Florida—who brought the case were awarded a total of $54.6 million in damages by the federal jury. The two defendants, also residents of Florida since '92, were not present in the packed courtroom for the verdict. However, Vides later told reporters that he and García have no funds to pay their lawyers, let alone pay the amount awarded to the plaintiffs. Vides and García, nevertheless, are considering filing an appeal.

FMLN National Convention Held

At the 15^th National Convention of the José Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN), held on 28 July in Nejapa, the leadership and rank-and-file membership united under the banner of “Vamos con Todo por la Victoria” (“Let’s go all out for Victory!”). The new party unity came at a price, however. They voted not to form a coalition with a dissident group that has distanced itself from the FMLN and is in the process of forming a new political party, called the Renewal Movement (Movimiento Renovador, MR), under the leadership of Facundo Guardado and Leonardo Mena. The FMLN also decided to reject any alliances with the National Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the National Conciliation Party (PCN) which are united against it (see Vol. 20, No. 10).

However, by rejecting a possible alliance with the MR, the FMLN is in danger of losing the mayorships of San Salvador, San Vicente, La Libertad and Ahuachapán, among others, in the '03 municipal elections. Héctor Silva, the twice-elected mayor of San Salvador under the FMLN banner, is fearful of losing the next election without MR support. Silva did not attend the FMLN’s national convention, allegedly because he was out of the country.

MR leader Mena stated, “The ones who will lose are [the FMLN]. The FMLN would rather lose than form an alliance [with us]. This is not the leftist party for the 21^st century.”

However, the FMLN did agree to form alliances with any of the other political parties in forthcoming elections in an effort to defeat the ruling ARENA party, while snubbing its nose at FMLN members who have joined the MR.

Guardado Expelled from the FMLN

The FMLN Ethics Tribunal expelled one of its cofounders and a former FMLN presidential candidate, Facundo Guardado, on 30 July, in the aftermath of the FMLN’s National Convention. Guardado was given eight days to appeal this decision before the ethics tribunal and/or to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Justice. The reasons given for Guardado’s expulsion were insubordination and not following established party guidelines as an FMLN legislator (see Vol. 21, No. 4).

Guardado has affiliated himself with the Renewal Movement faction, which claims to have about 8,000 members within the FMLN party structure. “My expulsion from the FMLN,” stated Guardado, “was done by the revolutionary Socialist faction” [known as the Orthodox], which is headed by Schafik Hándal, one of the other cofounders of the FMLN. Guardado claims that his expulsion was illegal.

One member of the Supreme Electoral Council, Julio Hernández, agreed. “The FMLN’s decision is absurd, because the Ethics Tribunal that made this decision has no legal basis—the FMLN’s bylaws make no mention of such a tribunal,” he stated.

Contraband Confiscated by the PNC

Between Jan and June '02, the National Civil Police (PNC) confiscated about $4.4 million in contraband merchandise, mainly milk products, clothing, cigarettes and perfume. The annual losses to the Salvadoran economy due to contraband merchandise are estimated at about $10 million. However, none of the 226 people detained so far this year for smuggling merchandise have been sentenced to prison, according to police inspector Eduardo Azucena, head of the PNC’s Finance Division.

Death Threats Made against Judges

The Inspector General of the PNC is heading up a special commission to investigate a series of death threats made during July against two federal judges in San Salvador: Aída Santos de Escobar and Mario Mardoqueo Menjívar. Both judges have been given temporary police protection.

Several telephone calls made to the offices of the respective judges included threats that “they would end up in black body bags.”

New Human Rights Ombudsman Appointed

After 17 months of deliberation, the National Assembly appointed Beatrice de Carrillo as the new Human Rights Ombudswoman to fill a vacancy left by the controversial Eduardo Peñate Polanco, who resigned under pressure in Feb of ’00 (see Vol. 19, No. 3). Part of the delay in this appointment was due to the fact that Carrillo is a naturalized Salvadoran who was born in Italy, and a law had to be reformed by Congress to allow her to serve in this capacity. Apparently, ARENA legislators attempted to manipulate the situation for their political advantage, but they finally conceded and voted for Carrillo after Congress considered 26 candidates.

Slow Economic Growth Reported

Economists predicted slow economic growth for the nation during the rest of this year, based on the pattern of the first two trimesters of ’02. Rather than achieving the 3.5% growth in GDP forecasted optimistically by the Francisco Flores administration, the experts are now saying that the economy will not grow more than 3.0%. This situation reflects the current financial crisis in the U.S. and Southern Cone countries, which is having a ripple effect on the Salvadoran economy. Nationally, some of the factors affecting economic growth this year compared to the same period of last year are as follows:

· A decline in consumer spending

· A loss of jobs

· A decline in overall production

· A slow down in construction

· A 4% decline in the balance of trade deficit

· A rise in consumer prices (food and housing costs rose by 1%)

· An increase in the number of people living in poverty

· An increase in the number of businesses that have gone bankrupt

· A 25% increase in the public debt

· A 12.4% increase in tax collection

· A 5% increase in “remesas” (funds sent home by Salvadorans living abroad)

· A small increase in agricultural production (1.2%)

· A very small increase in exports (0.4%)

· Traditional exports have declined 28.6% (mainly coffee, sugar, rice and corn)

· Non-traditional exports have increased 3.5%

―Clifton L. Holland