February 2007 Salvadoran congressmen killings
Encyclopedia
On February 19, 2007, three members of the ARENA
Party of El Salvador
— Eduardo D'Aubuisson, William Pichinte and José Ramón González, as well as their driver, Gerardo Ramírez — were found murdered near Guatemala City
, Guatemala
. Four police detectives were arrested and charged with the murder; within three days of their arrest, the four were murdered in a maximum-security prison cell. Several prosecutors investigating the deaths have also been murdered.
, the founder of ARENA and the leader of numerous Salvadoran death squads during that country's 1980-92 civil war.
Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America
and is frequented by drug traffickers traveling from Colombia
, through Mexico
and to the United States
.
to attend the Central American Parliament
on February 19, 2007. Their Toyota Land Cruiser, part of a four-car motrocade heading to the capital, pulled out of the convoy and onto a remote road at El Jocotillo, about 20 miles southeast of Guatemala City.
The next day, the bodies of the three congressmen and their driver were found in their charred and burnt vehicle. There were indications they had been tortured before death.
On February 25, the four men were murdered inside their prison cell.
The killings were followed by a prison riot; the warden and some guards were taken hostage. Initial reports suggested that the gunmen entered the prison disguised as visitors. The national police, however, stated that it was more likely that the gunmen came from inside the prison, since it would have been almost impossible for them to have gotten past the three security perimeters thrown around the building: the prison guards, the national police, and the army. Twenty men at the prison were arrested, including the warden and many guards.
The dramatic killings immediately spawned a number of conspiracy theories, which were dismissed by Erwin Sperisen, the chief of the Guatemalan National Police: "People don't want to believe that the reality is simpler, more ironic and more stupid. It wasn't a great conspiracy. It was a series of coincidental events. But the people don't want to believe. They want a soap opera, a spy drama, a James Bond movie." Among the plausible theories put forward by Sperisen were that the officers might have been tricked into thinking they were assassinating Colombian drug dealers masquerading as Salvadoran deputies; political enemies in El Salvador may have arranged for the deputies' murder; and the Salvadoran deputies may in fact have been linked to the drug trade.
Early in March 2007, a top police official, Javier Figueroa, abruptly resigned his position and fled Guatemala with his family, seeking asylum first in Costa Rica and then Venezuela. Figueroa, a former gynecologist, was involved in arresting the four officers and claimed to be in fear for his life. But the press openly speculated that he in fact was involved in ordering the killings.
On March 26, 2007, Erwin Sperisen, the chief of the National Police, and Carlos Vielmann, the Interior Minister, resigned as a consequence of the two sets of killings.
On April 8, 2008, Victor Rivera, a Venezuelan national, was shot and killed while driving in Guatemala City. Two days earlier he had been fired from his advisory position to the Ministry of the Interior, where he was investigating the deaths of the Salvadoran deputies. The murder of Rivera, in turn, was investigated by former Attorney General Álvaro Matus, who was himself accused of conducting a cover-up by prosecutors from the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala. Matus surrendered to authorities on February 3, 2009, but the charges against him were immediately dropped by the Public Ministry and he was released.
In July 2008, 13 suspects accused in the killings of the four suspects were acquitted by a judge. On July 14, 2008, the state prosecutor who had accused the 13 men, Juan Carlos Martínez, was shot dead in Guatemala City.
s who were linked to the three dead men to Guatemalan or Salvadoran security officials.
Nationalist Republican Alliance
The Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981, by Roberto D'Aubuisson, in order to oppose the reformist military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time...
Party of El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
— Eduardo D'Aubuisson, William Pichinte and José Ramón González, as well as their driver, Gerardo Ramírez — were found murdered near Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Four police detectives were arrested and charged with the murder; within three days of their arrest, the four were murdered in a maximum-security prison cell. Several prosecutors investigating the deaths have also been murdered.
Background
The three men were members of ARENA, the right-wing ruling party of El Salvador. Eduardo D'Aubuisson was the son of Roberto D'AubuissonRoberto D'Aubuisson
Major Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta was the Salvadoran Army officer and political leader who founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance , which he led from 1980 to 1985...
, the founder of ARENA and the leader of numerous Salvadoran death squads during that country's 1980-92 civil war.
Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and is frequented by drug traffickers traveling from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, through Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The murders
The three men were on their way to Guatemala CityGuatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
to attend the Central American Parliament
Central American Parliament
The Central American Parliament , also known as PARLACEN is a political institution devoted to the integration of the Central American countries. Its headquarters are in Guatemala City....
on February 19, 2007. Their Toyota Land Cruiser, part of a four-car motrocade heading to the capital, pulled out of the convoy and onto a remote road at El Jocotillo, about 20 miles southeast of Guatemala City.
The next day, the bodies of the three congressmen and their driver were found in their charred and burnt vehicle. There were indications they had been tortured before death.
Subsequent events
Soon after the murders, four Guatemalan policemen were arrested. They had been tracked by a GPS system embedded in a police vehicle that was at the scene of the killings. They were formally charged in connection with the case on February 22; all four suspects were then secretly moved to the maximum-security prison El Boqueron, 40 miles east of Guatemala City.On February 25, the four men were murdered inside their prison cell.
The killings were followed by a prison riot; the warden and some guards were taken hostage. Initial reports suggested that the gunmen entered the prison disguised as visitors. The national police, however, stated that it was more likely that the gunmen came from inside the prison, since it would have been almost impossible for them to have gotten past the three security perimeters thrown around the building: the prison guards, the national police, and the army. Twenty men at the prison were arrested, including the warden and many guards.
The dramatic killings immediately spawned a number of conspiracy theories, which were dismissed by Erwin Sperisen, the chief of the Guatemalan National Police: "People don't want to believe that the reality is simpler, more ironic and more stupid. It wasn't a great conspiracy. It was a series of coincidental events. But the people don't want to believe. They want a soap opera, a spy drama, a James Bond movie." Among the plausible theories put forward by Sperisen were that the officers might have been tricked into thinking they were assassinating Colombian drug dealers masquerading as Salvadoran deputies; political enemies in El Salvador may have arranged for the deputies' murder; and the Salvadoran deputies may in fact have been linked to the drug trade.
Early in March 2007, a top police official, Javier Figueroa, abruptly resigned his position and fled Guatemala with his family, seeking asylum first in Costa Rica and then Venezuela. Figueroa, a former gynecologist, was involved in arresting the four officers and claimed to be in fear for his life. But the press openly speculated that he in fact was involved in ordering the killings.
On March 26, 2007, Erwin Sperisen, the chief of the National Police, and Carlos Vielmann, the Interior Minister, resigned as a consequence of the two sets of killings.
On April 8, 2008, Victor Rivera, a Venezuelan national, was shot and killed while driving in Guatemala City. Two days earlier he had been fired from his advisory position to the Ministry of the Interior, where he was investigating the deaths of the Salvadoran deputies. The murder of Rivera, in turn, was investigated by former Attorney General Álvaro Matus, who was himself accused of conducting a cover-up by prosecutors from the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala. Matus surrendered to authorities on February 3, 2009, but the charges against him were immediately dropped by the Public Ministry and he was released.
In July 2008, 13 suspects accused in the killings of the four suspects were acquitted by a judge. On July 14, 2008, the state prosecutor who had accused the 13 men, Juan Carlos Martínez, was shot dead in Guatemala City.
Motives
Suspects range from drug cartelDrug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
s who were linked to the three dead men to Guatemalan or Salvadoran security officials.