Las Hojas massacre

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In the Las Hojas massacre on February 22, 1983, around 74 people were murdered by security forces near the town of Las Hojas in the Sonsonate department in El Salvador .

background

The background to the massacre is a land conflict between the Asociación Nacional Indígena Salvadoreña (ANIS) and a neighboring land owner. In 1978, ANIS bought a plot of land near Las Hojas in the Sonsonate department. The land was sold by Candelario Castro. The land had previously been used as cattle pasture and as access to the main road from Sonsonate. The ANIS site borders on one side of land owned by Alfonso Aráuz. Alfonso Aráuz was looking for a right to cross the ANIS property in order to shorten his way to the main road. No agreement was reached between ANIS and Aráuz. In May 1979, when ANIS were growing their first fruits, Aráuz tried repeatedly to cross the property, destroying the fruits that had been grown and the ANIS enclosure . Eventually, a lawsuit was filed in the Sonsonate Court. The court of first instance ruled in favor of ANIS . In the course of the land conflict, some workers from Aráuz joined the paramilitary unit Defensa Civil . The Defensa Civil operated under the orders of the local military authorities.

massacre

The massacre took place near Las Hojas . All identified victims were shot with firearms from close range. The massacre was deliberately carried out by the Salvadoran army with the participation of paramilitary units of the Defensa Civil .

Impunity

The government of El Salvador has failed to ensure successful justice against the members of the forces involved. An amnesty law has been improperly applied that is inconsistent with El Salvador's international human rights obligations.

Members of the Destacamento Militar Nº 6 de Sonsonate are suspected of having participated in this massacre.

Adrián Esquino Lisco (1929–2007), head of ANIS , had been committed to clearing up the massacre. Colonel Elmer González Araujo, then commander of Destacamento Militar Nº 6 de Sonsonate , said his soldiers had defended themselves against subversives. Esquino Lisco reported to the New York Times : "I asked the high commanding officer of the army how guerrillas can die with their hands cuffed behind their backs." (Victims had their thumbs tied behind their backs, a type of handcuff similar to living prisoners the Salvadoran security forces was seen).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Masacre Las Hojas v. El Salvador, Case 10.287, Report No. 26/92, Inter-Am.CHR, OEA / Ser.L / V / II.83 Doc. 14 at 83 (1993). [1]
  2. ↑ El Salvador's Death Squads: New Evidence from US Documents [2]
  3. ↑ Washington Post September 20, 2007 Adrián Esquino Lisco, 68; Indigenous Salvadorans' Spiritual Chief [3]
  4. ↑ February 25, 1985 New York Times 2 YEARS AFTER MASSACRE, SALVADORAN SEEKS JUSTICE: Adrian Esquino Lisco has been waiting two years for justice, but now, he says, his patience and his faith are beginning to run out. Early on Feb. 23, 1983, as many as 200 Salvadoran Government soldiers entered the Indian farming cooperative of Las Hojas about 45 miles west of the capital of San Salvador, Mr. Esquino said, and dragged away seven of his friends. Later that day he found the men sprawled along the bank of a nearby river with their thumbs tied behind their backs. Eleven peasants fro ...