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CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Former Salvadoran army officers convicted in 1982 killing of 4 Dutch TV journalists
Three former Salvadoran military officers were convicted by a five-person jury late Tuesday for the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the Central American nation's civil war. They received 15-year prison sentences. A jury made up of five women convicted the three men of murder in a lightning trial that began Tuesday morning in the northern city of Chalatenango, said Oscar Pérez, lawyer for the Foundation Comunicandonos that represented the victims' families. Pérez said prosecutors had requested minimum 15-year prison sentences for all three. Convicted were former Defense Minister Gen. José Guillermo García, 91, former treasury police director Col. Francisco Morán, 93, and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, who was the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. García and Morán are under police guard at a private hospital in San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the United States. In March, El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered that the extradition process be started to bring him back. Pérez said that in addition to the convictions of the former high-ranking officers, the judge condemned the government for the delayed justice and ordered the commander in chief of the armed forces, President Nayib Bukele, to issue a public apology to the victims. In this March 11, 1982 photo, from left, Jan Kuiper, director; Koos Koster, producer; Joop Willemsen, cameraman; and Hans ter Laag, soundman; walk north of San Salvador, El Salvador, days before they were killed. AP Photo, File) The Dutch TV journalists - Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson - had linked up with leftist rebels and planned to spend several days behind rebel lines reporting. But Salvadoran soldiers armed with assault rifles and machine guns ambushed them and the guerrillas. García was deported from the U.S. in 2016, after a U.S. judge declared him responsible for serious human rights violations during the early years of the war between the military and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front guerrillas. The prosecution of the men was reopened in 2018 after the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a general amnesty passed following the 1980-1992 war. It moved slowly, but in March 2022, relatives of the victims and representatives of the Dutch government and European Union demanded that those responsible for killing Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson be tried. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp welcomed the convictions. "This is an important moment in the fight against impunity and in the pursuit of justice for the four Dutch journalists and their next of kin," Veldkamp said in a message on social media. "Grateful to the authorities of El Salvador and to all those who have worked tirelessly on this case," he added. According to Foundation Comunicandonos, Jan Kuiper died just two days before his 40th birthday and his colleague Hans ter Laag wrote a letter to his girlfriend shortly before the fatal trip, saying: "My dear, this Wednesday the guerrillas will take us to the liberated zone. We are going to Chalatenango, where the armed struggle is taking place. It is a very dangerous trip and must be secret." Koos Koster studied theology in college and published several books about international politics, Foundation Comunicandonos said. The tombstone at his graveside features an image, made by his sister, depicting a biblical story and next to it the motto: "Survival compels." Joop Willensen planned to marry his longtime partner, Yata Matsuzaki, in Mexico after his trip to El Salvador, she said. The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, which was set up as part of a U.N.-brokered peace agreement in 1992, concluded there was clear evidence that the killings were the result of an ambush set up by Reyes Mena with the knowledge of other officials, based on an intelligence report that alerted of the journalists' presence. Other members of the military, including Gen. Rafael Flores Lima and Sgt. Mario Canizales Espinoza were also accused of involvement, but died. Canizales allegedly led the patrol that carried out the massacre of the journalists. Former Defense Minister Jose Guillermo Garcia is surrounded by press as he arrives at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero international airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, Jan. 8, 2016. Salvador Melendez / AP Juan Carlos Sánchez, of the nongovernmental organization Mesa Contra la Impunidad, in comments to journalists, called the trial a "transcendental step that the victims have waited 40 years for." An estimated 75,000 civilians were killed during El Salvador's civil war, mostly by U.S.-backed government security forces. The trial was closed to the public.
Euronews
3 days ago
- General
- Euronews
Salvadoran ex-army officers convicted for murder of Dutch journalists
A court in El Salvador has sentenced three former senior military officers to 15 years in prison for the killing of four Dutch journalists in 1982. Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson were killed in an ambush by the Salvadoran army in the northern province of Chalatenango while filming a documentary about the Central American country's civil war, which lasted from 1980 until 1992. Late on Tuesday, a five-person jury in a Chalatenango court found three former top military officials guilty over their deaths after a trial that was closed to the public. The convicted men were former Defence Minister José Guillermo García, 91, former Treasury Police Director Francisco Morán, 93, and Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. García and Morán remain under a police guard at a private hospital in the capital San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the US. The Salvadoran Supreme Court started extradition proceedings in March to bring him back to face justice. García was deported from the US in 2016, with a US judge declaring him responsible for serious human rights violations during the Salvadoran civil war. Óscar Pérez, lawyer for the Foundation Comunicandonos that represented the victims' families, said prosecutors had requested a minimum 15-year prison sentence for all three men. Shortly before they were killed, the four Dutch reporters, who were making a documentary for Ikon TV, had joined up with guerrillas to film behind enemy lines. Salvadoran soldiers armed with assault rifles and machine guns then ambushed them and the guerrillas. Pérez told reporters that there was 'sufficient proof' that 'deliberate and well-planned military action' led to the Dutch journalists' killings. The same assessment was also made by the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador after the end of the civil war. The lawyer added that the judge in the case also condemned the Salvadoran government, ordering President Nayib Bukele to apologise publicly to the victims in his role as head of the country's armed forces. Juan Carlos Sánchez, from the NGO Mesa Contra la Impunidad, said the trial was a 'transcendental step that the victims have waited 40 years for'. The prosecution of the military officials was relaunched in 2018, after the country's highest court ruled that the general post-civil war amnesty was unconstitutional. In March 2022, relatives of the victims as well as representatives of the Dutch government and the EU demanded that the suspects be tried. Some of the men accused of being involved in the killings had already died, including Mario Canizales Espinoza, who was believed to have led the patrol that carried out the massacre. Some 75,000 Salvadoran civilians were killed during the civil war, most of whom died at the hands of the US-backed government security forces.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- General
- Business Standard
Salvador court convicts 3 ex-army officers in 1982 killing of 4 journalists
Three former Salvadoran officers were convicted by a five-person jury late Tuesday for the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the Central American nation's civil war. A jury made up of five women convicted the three men of murder in a lightning trial that began Tuesday morning in the northern city of Chalatenango, said Oscar Perez, lawyer for the Foundation Comunicandonos that represented the victims. Perez said prosecutors requested 15-year prison sentences for all three. Convicted were former Defence Minister Gen. Jose Guillermo Garcia, 91, former treasury police director Col. Francisco Moran, 93, and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, who was the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. Garcia and Moran are under police guard at a private hospital in San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the United States. In March, El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered that the extradition process be started to bring him back. The Dutch TV journalists Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson had linked up with leftist rebels and planned to spend several days behind rebel lines reporting. But Salvadoran soldiers armed with assault rifles and machine guns ambushed them and the guerrillas. Garcia was deported from the US in 2016, after a US judge declared him responsible for serious human rights violations during the early years of the war between the military and the leftist Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front guerrillas. The prosecution of the men was reopened in 2018 after the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a general amnesty passed following the 1980-1992 war. It moved slowly, but in March 2022, relatives of the victims and representatives of the Dutch government and European Union demanded that those responsible for killing Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson be tried. The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, which was set up as part of a UN-brokered peace agreement in 1992, concluded there was clear evidence that the killings were the result of an ambush set up by Reyes Mena with the knowledge of other officials, based on an intelligence report that alerted of the journalists' presence. Other members of the military, including Gen. Rafael Flores Lima and Sgt. Mario Canizales Espinoza were also accused of involvement, but died. Canizales allegedly led the patrol that carried out the massacre of the journalists. Juan Carlos Sanchez, of the nongovernmental organisation Mesa Contra la Impunidad, in comments to journalists, called the trial a transcendental step that the victims have waited 40 years for. An estimated 75,000 civilians were killed during El Salvador's civil war, mostly by US-backed government security forces. The trial was closed to the public.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Salvadoran court convicts 3 former army officers in the 1982 killing of 4 Dutch journalists
Three former Salvadoran military officers were convicted by a five-person jury late Tuesday for the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the Central American nation's civil war. They received 15-year prison sentences. A jury made up of five women convicted the three men of murder in a lightning trial that began Tuesday (June 3, 2025) morning in the northern city of Chalatenango, said Oscar Pérez, lawyer for the Foundation Comunicandonos that represented the victims' families. Pérez said prosecutors had requested minimum 15-year prison sentences for all three. Convicted were former Defense Minister Gen. José Guillermo García, 91, former treasury police director Col. Francisco Morán, 93, and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, who was the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. García and Morán are under police guard at a private hospital in San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the United States. In March, El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered that the extradition process be started to bring him back. Pérez said that in addition to the convictions of the former high-ranking officers, the judge condemned the government for the delayed justice and ordered the commander in chief of the armed forces, President Nayib Bukele, to issue a public apology to the victims. The Dutch TV journalists — Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson — had linked up with leftist rebels and planned to spend several days behind rebel lines reporting. But Salvadoran soldiers armed with assault rifles and machine guns ambushed them and the guerrillas. García was deported from the U.S. in 2016, after a U.S. judge declared him responsible for serious human rights violations during the early years of the war between the military and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front guerrillas. The prosecution of the men was reopened in 2018 after the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a general amnesty passed following the 1980-1992 war. It moved slowly, but in March 2022, relatives of the victims and representatives of the Dutch government and European Union demanded that those responsible for killing Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson be tried. The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, which was set up as part of a U.N.-brokered peace agreement in 1992, concluded there was clear evidence that the killings were the result of an ambush set up by Reyes Mena with the knowledge of other officials, based on an intelligence report that alerted of the journalists' presence. Other members of the military, including Gen. Rafael Flores Lima and Sgt. Mario Canizales Espinoza were also accused of involvement, but died. Canizales allegedly led the patrol that carried out the massacre of the journalists. Juan Carlos Sánchez, of the nongovernmental organization Mesa Contra la Impunidad, in comments to journalists, called the trial a 'transcendental step that the victims have waited 40 years for.' An estimated 75,000 civilians were killed during El Salvador's civil war, mostly by U.S.-backed government security forces. The trial was closed to the public.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trial starts for Salvadoran officers accused of killing Dutch journalists in 1982
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The trial of three retired Salvadoran military officers for the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the Central American country's civil war began Tuesday in the northern city of Chalatenango. The three men could face prison sentences of up to 30 years if convicted in the jury trial, which was scheduled to start and conclude on the same day. On trial are former Defense Minister Gen. José Guillermo García, 91, former treasury police director Col. Francisco Morán, 93, and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, who was the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. García and Morán are under police guard at a private hospital in San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the United States. In March, El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered that the extradition process be started to bring him back. García was deported from the U.S. in 2016, after a U.S. judge declared him responsible for serious human rights violations during the early years of the war between the military and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front guerrillas. The Dutch TV journalists had linked up with leftist rebels and planned to spend several days behind rebel lines reporting. But Salvadoran soldiers armed with assault rifles and machine guns ambushed them and the guerrillas. The prosecution of the men was reopened in 2018 after the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a general amnesty passed following the 1980-1992 war. It moved slowly, but in March 2022, relatives of the victims and representatives of the Dutch government and European Union demanded that those responsible for killing Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemson be tried. The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, which was set up as part of a U.N.-brokered peace agreement in 1992, concluded there was clear evidence that the killings were the result of an ambush set up by Reyes Mena with the knowledge of other officials, based on an intelligence report that alerted of the journalists' presence. Other members of the military, including Gen. Rafael Flores Lima and Sgt. Mario Canizales Espinoza were also accused of involvement, but died. Canizales allegedly led the patrol that carried out the massacre of the journalists. Juan Carlos Sánchez, of the nongovernmental organization Mesa Contra la Impunidad, in comments to journalists, called the trial a 'transcendental step that the victims have waited 40 years for.'
