Matt Eisenbrandt and Benjamín Cuéllar
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
In 1980, a death squad linked to business tycoons and military commanders murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero for denouncing widespread repression and poverty in El Salvador. Romero was known as the ...
More
In 1980, a death squad linked to business tycoons and military commanders murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero for denouncing widespread repression and poverty in El Salvador. Romero was known as the “voice of the voiceless,” and his criticism of the oligarchs who dominated the economy and the Security Forces that tortured and murdered civilians made Romero a military target. Two decades after his assassination, the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) found one of the conspirators, Álvaro Saravia, living in California and launched a wide-ranging investigation into the death squad and its financiers. This book chronicles the life and death of the Catholic martyr, examining his actions and situating his years as archbishop in the broader context of the Salvadoran clergy’s embrace of Liberation Theology. It also analyzes, through excerpts from witness interviews and trial testimony, the mindset of the death squad members, their leader Roberto D’Aubuisson, and their wealthy backers, that propelled them to want Romero dead. The U.S. government played an important and contradictory role in developing the death squads and funding the military from which they sprang while also investigating their crimes and seeking to keep them in check. Within this complicated historical context, the book provides a first-hand account of the investigation and U.S. legal case that led to the only court verdict ever reached for Archbishop Romero’s murder.Less
In 1980, a death squad linked to business tycoons and military commanders murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero for denouncing widespread repression and poverty in El Salvador. Romero was known as the “voice of the voiceless,” and his criticism of the oligarchs who dominated the economy and the Security Forces that tortured and murdered civilians made Romero a military target. Two decades after his assassination, the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) found one of the conspirators, Álvaro Saravia, living in California and launched a wide-ranging investigation into the death squad and its financiers. This book chronicles the life and death of the Catholic martyr, examining his actions and situating his years as archbishop in the broader context of the Salvadoran clergy’s embrace of Liberation Theology. It also analyzes, through excerpts from witness interviews and trial testimony, the mindset of the death squad members, their leader Roberto D’Aubuisson, and their wealthy backers, that propelled them to want Romero dead. The U.S. government played an important and contradictory role in developing the death squads and funding the military from which they sprang while also investigating their crimes and seeking to keep them in check. Within this complicated historical context, the book provides a first-hand account of the investigation and U.S. legal case that led to the only court verdict ever reached for Archbishop Romero’s murder.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter describes the filing of the legal case against Alvaro Saravia as well as several unnamed “Doe” defendants, designations intended to be filled with the identities of death squad ...
More
This chapter describes the filing of the legal case against Alvaro Saravia as well as several unnamed “Doe” defendants, designations intended to be filled with the identities of death squad financiers with connections to the United States. The chapter presents the documentation and evidence that describes the alleged funding of the death squads, including the Saravia Diary and a U.S. embassy cable about a group called the “Miami Six”. It transitions to a discussion of how, as a full-scale civil war raged, many of the Salvadoran oligarchs teamed up with Roberto D’Aubuisson to create the ARENA political party while the U.S. administration of Ronald Reagan greatly increased economic assistance to the Salvadoran military responsible for so much of the repression.Less
This chapter describes the filing of the legal case against Alvaro Saravia as well as several unnamed “Doe” defendants, designations intended to be filled with the identities of death squad financiers with connections to the United States. The chapter presents the documentation and evidence that describes the alleged funding of the death squads, including the Saravia Diary and a U.S. embassy cable about a group called the “Miami Six”. It transitions to a discussion of how, as a full-scale civil war raged, many of the Salvadoran oligarchs teamed up with Roberto D’Aubuisson to create the ARENA political party while the U.S. administration of Ronald Reagan greatly increased economic assistance to the Salvadoran military responsible for so much of the repression.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Over three decades, there have been several investigations of Romero’s murder that have uncovered significant information but never led to a trial. In 1980, Judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya attended the ...
More
Over three decades, there have been several investigations of Romero’s murder that have uncovered significant information but never led to a trial. In 1980, Judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya attended the autopsy and started gathering evidence but the police who normally assisted were entirely absent, and three days later an assassination attempt caused Ramirez Amaya to flee. Later that year, authorities raided an estate called Finca San Luis, arrested several extremists, including Roberto D’Aubuisson, and seized documents showing death squad operations, including a datebook called the Saravia Diary that contained a page titled Operation Piña that is thought to describe Romero’s murder. In the next few years, the U.S. embassy developed an insider military source who claimed to have attended a planning meeting for Romero’s assassination. In 1987, the getaway driver for the operation, Amado Garay, testified before Salvadoran judge and implicated Roberto D’Aubuisson and Alvaro Saravia in the plot.Less
Over three decades, there have been several investigations of Romero’s murder that have uncovered significant information but never led to a trial. In 1980, Judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya attended the autopsy and started gathering evidence but the police who normally assisted were entirely absent, and three days later an assassination attempt caused Ramirez Amaya to flee. Later that year, authorities raided an estate called Finca San Luis, arrested several extremists, including Roberto D’Aubuisson, and seized documents showing death squad operations, including a datebook called the Saravia Diary that contained a page titled Operation Piña that is thought to describe Romero’s murder. In the next few years, the U.S. embassy developed an insider military source who claimed to have attended a planning meeting for Romero’s assassination. In 1987, the getaway driver for the operation, Amado Garay, testified before Salvadoran judge and implicated Roberto D’Aubuisson and Alvaro Saravia in the plot.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
In 2001, a man working with the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) saw Alvaro Saravia in a lawyer’s office in San Francisco, California, and recognized him as one of Romero’s killers. CJA ...
More
In 2001, a man working with the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) saw Alvaro Saravia in a lawyer’s office in San Francisco, California, and recognized him as one of Romero’s killers. CJA plays a role in the international justice movement that seeks to hold accountable those who commit atrocities, and CJA has a focus on bring U.S. cases under the Alien Tort Statute. This chapter describes the history of U.S. litigation using the Alien Tort Statute and the rise of CJA as an important human rights organization with a specific focus on cases involving El Salvador. The chapter concludes with CJA’s trip to search for Saravia near his home in Modesto, California.Less
In 2001, a man working with the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) saw Alvaro Saravia in a lawyer’s office in San Francisco, California, and recognized him as one of Romero’s killers. CJA plays a role in the international justice movement that seeks to hold accountable those who commit atrocities, and CJA has a focus on bring U.S. cases under the Alien Tort Statute. This chapter describes the history of U.S. litigation using the Alien Tort Statute and the rise of CJA as an important human rights organization with a specific focus on cases involving El Salvador. The chapter concludes with CJA’s trip to search for Saravia near his home in Modesto, California.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
As the chapter describes the legal team’s continuing search for Alvaro Saravia, it provides the background on Saravia’s criminal past in El Salvador that led him to come to the United States. ...
More
As the chapter describes the legal team’s continuing search for Alvaro Saravia, it provides the background on Saravia’s criminal past in El Salvador that led him to come to the United States. Salvadoran authorities finally launched a serious investigation into the Romero assassination leading to the testimony of the getaway driver, Amado Garay, and the arrest of Saravia in Miami. Roberto D’Aubuisson and others infuriated the U.S. government by undermining a case to have Saravia extradited to stand trial in El Salvador. With Saravia still facing immigration problems, a U.S. embassy official took advantage of Saravia’s predicament to get information from him about Romero’s murder. Those details largely matched the findings of a Truth Commission report issued a few years later, after the end of El Salvador’s civil war.Less
As the chapter describes the legal team’s continuing search for Alvaro Saravia, it provides the background on Saravia’s criminal past in El Salvador that led him to come to the United States. Salvadoran authorities finally launched a serious investigation into the Romero assassination leading to the testimony of the getaway driver, Amado Garay, and the arrest of Saravia in Miami. Roberto D’Aubuisson and others infuriated the U.S. government by undermining a case to have Saravia extradited to stand trial in El Salvador. With Saravia still facing immigration problems, a U.S. embassy official took advantage of Saravia’s predicament to get information from him about Romero’s murder. Those details largely matched the findings of a Truth Commission report issued a few years later, after the end of El Salvador’s civil war.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Alvaro Saravia also testified before the Truth Commission and revealed significant information about the role of oligarchs in supporting Roberto D’Aubuisson and playing specific roles in Romero ...
More
Alvaro Saravia also testified before the Truth Commission and revealed significant information about the role of oligarchs in supporting Roberto D’Aubuisson and playing specific roles in Romero assassination. The legal team uses this information and new connections with U.S. investigators to continue digging for information about the death squad financiers. The chapter also provides the historical backdrop in which former U.S. ambassador Robert White went public in 1984 to tell the U.S. Congress about the allegations of the Miami Six financing D’Aubuisson and death squad operations. The legal team attempts to develop leads on one of the men White named, Roberto Daglio. Returning to the historical evidence, the chapter chronicles other disclosures in the 1980s from former military leader Roberto Santivañez, who claimed that his former subordinate, Roberto D’Aubuisson, arranged the assassination of Archbishop Romero.Less
Alvaro Saravia also testified before the Truth Commission and revealed significant information about the role of oligarchs in supporting Roberto D’Aubuisson and playing specific roles in Romero assassination. The legal team uses this information and new connections with U.S. investigators to continue digging for information about the death squad financiers. The chapter also provides the historical backdrop in which former U.S. ambassador Robert White went public in 1984 to tell the U.S. Congress about the allegations of the Miami Six financing D’Aubuisson and death squad operations. The legal team attempts to develop leads on one of the men White named, Roberto Daglio. Returning to the historical evidence, the chapter chronicles other disclosures in the 1980s from former military leader Roberto Santivañez, who claimed that his former subordinate, Roberto D’Aubuisson, arranged the assassination of Archbishop Romero.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter describes the contradictory information the legal team receives from the Department of Homeland Security and other sources concerning the whereabouts of the defendant, Alvaro Saravia, ...
More
This chapter describes the contradictory information the legal team receives from the Department of Homeland Security and other sources concerning the whereabouts of the defendant, Alvaro Saravia, including information that he could be in Central America or in the United States. As team speculates that they could be receiving misleading data, the chapter describes an episode in the 1980s when Roberto D’Aubuisson and others fabricated a witness statement by someone nicknamed Pedro Lobo that the leftist guerrillas killed Archbishop Romero. The team meets in Miami with a key investigator who tries to develop leads not only on the financiers but also a Nicaraguan man, Ricardo Lao, who allegedly received money from Roberto D’Aubuisson to arrange Romero’s murder.Less
This chapter describes the contradictory information the legal team receives from the Department of Homeland Security and other sources concerning the whereabouts of the defendant, Alvaro Saravia, including information that he could be in Central America or in the United States. As team speculates that they could be receiving misleading data, the chapter describes an episode in the 1980s when Roberto D’Aubuisson and others fabricated a witness statement by someone nicknamed Pedro Lobo that the leftist guerrillas killed Archbishop Romero. The team meets in Miami with a key investigator who tries to develop leads not only on the financiers but also a Nicaraguan man, Ricardo Lao, who allegedly received money from Roberto D’Aubuisson to arrange Romero’s murder.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter describes the legal team’s interactions with the getaway driver, Amado Garay, who gives them the surprise of a lifetime when he calls out of the blue and confirms that he is in witness ...
More
This chapter describes the legal team’s interactions with the getaway driver, Amado Garay, who gives them the surprise of a lifetime when he calls out of the blue and confirms that he is in witness protection. He agree to cooperate in the case and soon provides testimony in the form of a deposition under oath, in which he repeats much of the story he told in 1987 implicating Alvaro Saravia in Romero’s murder. Garay provides many more details about the group he was in, calling it a death squad in which the people were well-armed, and stating that he was a driver for Roberto D’Aubuisson on several occasions. With Garay’s testimony, the legal team finally has recorded testimony from a witness under oath confirming that Saravia was involved in killing Archbishop Romero.Less
This chapter describes the legal team’s interactions with the getaway driver, Amado Garay, who gives them the surprise of a lifetime when he calls out of the blue and confirms that he is in witness protection. He agree to cooperate in the case and soon provides testimony in the form of a deposition under oath, in which he repeats much of the story he told in 1987 implicating Alvaro Saravia in Romero’s murder. Garay provides many more details about the group he was in, calling it a death squad in which the people were well-armed, and stating that he was a driver for Roberto D’Aubuisson on several occasions. With Garay’s testimony, the legal team finally has recorded testimony from a witness under oath confirming that Saravia was involved in killing Archbishop Romero.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter describes the trial in Fresno, California against Alvaro Saravia, in which several Salvadoran witnesses testify about their experiences with Archbishop Romero, including the ...
More
This chapter describes the trial in Fresno, California against Alvaro Saravia, in which several Salvadoran witnesses testify about their experiences with Archbishop Romero, including the investigating judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya and the getaway driver, Amado Garay. Despite the evidence collected during the investigation, the team decided not to bring any others into the case as defendant, which means that the trial focuses on Saravia’s responsibility and the impact of Romero’s death. After five days of testimony, the judge holds Saravia liable for Romero’s murder, calls Roberto D’Aubuisson the mastermind of the operation and orders Saravia to pay $10 million in damages.Less
This chapter describes the trial in Fresno, California against Alvaro Saravia, in which several Salvadoran witnesses testify about their experiences with Archbishop Romero, including the investigating judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya and the getaway driver, Amado Garay. Despite the evidence collected during the investigation, the team decided not to bring any others into the case as defendant, which means that the trial focuses on Saravia’s responsibility and the impact of Romero’s death. After five days of testimony, the judge holds Saravia liable for Romero’s murder, calls Roberto D’Aubuisson the mastermind of the operation and orders Saravia to pay $10 million in damages.
Matt Eisenbrandt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286795
- eISBN:
- 9780520961890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286795.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter chronicles the surprising post-trial revelations by Alvaro Saravia, who comes out of hiding to give an interview to a Miami newspaper. Saravia then contacts the legal team, starting a ...
More
This chapter chronicles the surprising post-trial revelations by Alvaro Saravia, who comes out of hiding to give an interview to a Miami newspaper. Saravia then contacts the legal team, starting a months-long dialogue that eventually leads to a sit-down meeting with two members of the team in Honduras. The legal team refuses to negotiate with Saravia unless he reveals everything he knows about those responsible for the Romero assassination and the financing of Roberto D’Aubuisson’s death squad, and although the meeting ends without an agreement, Saravia does make some interesting disclosures.Less
This chapter chronicles the surprising post-trial revelations by Alvaro Saravia, who comes out of hiding to give an interview to a Miami newspaper. Saravia then contacts the legal team, starting a months-long dialogue that eventually leads to a sit-down meeting with two members of the team in Honduras. The legal team refuses to negotiate with Saravia unless he reveals everything he knows about those responsible for the Romero assassination and the financing of Roberto D’Aubuisson’s death squad, and although the meeting ends without an agreement, Saravia does make some interesting disclosures.
Jay T. Collier
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190858520
- eISBN:
- 9780190863876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190858520.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Chapter 2 shows how perseverance was a major topic in the debates at Cambridge University that set the context for the famous Lambeth Articles of 1595. Furthermore, the chapter looks specifically at ...
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Chapter 2 shows how perseverance was a major topic in the debates at Cambridge University that set the context for the famous Lambeth Articles of 1595. Furthermore, the chapter looks specifically at the way perseverance was handled in the construction of the Lambeth Articles and how variant readings and receptions of Augustine factored into the version of the articles that was finally approved. Thus, it shows that readings of Augustine influenced the way bishops made policies and strictures for the University of Cambridge. It suggests the existence of a strong Reformed influence in England that was broad enough to admit diversity on perseverance due to its regard for the early church. That is, it discovers the existence of a minority opinion within the Reformed tradition that took advantage of the confessional latitude and dissented from the majority opinion regarding the perseverance of every saint.Less
Chapter 2 shows how perseverance was a major topic in the debates at Cambridge University that set the context for the famous Lambeth Articles of 1595. Furthermore, the chapter looks specifically at the way perseverance was handled in the construction of the Lambeth Articles and how variant readings and receptions of Augustine factored into the version of the articles that was finally approved. Thus, it shows that readings of Augustine influenced the way bishops made policies and strictures for the University of Cambridge. It suggests the existence of a strong Reformed influence in England that was broad enough to admit diversity on perseverance due to its regard for the early church. That is, it discovers the existence of a minority opinion within the Reformed tradition that took advantage of the confessional latitude and dissented from the majority opinion regarding the perseverance of every saint.
