Dec 11, 2018
Remembering the 1981 El Mozote Massacre in El Salvador
December 11th, 2018 marks the 37th anniversary of the 1981 massacre at El Mozote in El Salvador. Hear from Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) on why it’s so important that we continue to remember this atrocity — and why the U.S. has an obligation to support the pursuit of justice in this case.
Today, December 11th, is the 37th anniversary of the 1981 massacre at El Mozote in El Salvador. Over the span of a few days, troops of the Salvadoran armed forces, many of them U.S.-trained, massacred over 1,000 people, the overwhelming majority of them women and children.
During last year’s anniversary, in December 2017, I traveled to El Mozote. I met with survivors and members of the community. I listened to their stories and learned about their long search for justice. I saw first-hand the extent of the massacre. It was a deeply moving experience, one that had a powerful impact on me.
I remain committed to supporting the survivors, remembering the victims, and supporting efforts to seek justice in this case. The U.S. government’s involvement in El Salvador’s twelve year civil war, including during the period when the El Mozote massacre took place, obligates each of us to do what we can to seek justice in this case.
Importantly, I believe that investigations and prosecutions in this historic case would also strengthen the rule of law in El Salvador today. The constitutional court of El Salvador overturned the 1993 amnesty law that had prevented prosecutions in the El Mozote case. Following that decision, at the request of attorneys for the victims, a judge in the department of Morazan, where the massacre took place, has courageously opened a criminal case against eighteen military officers for their responsibility in ordering or carrying out the massacre.
This is a difficult case — the events took place many years ago, and the military has resisted cooperating with the investigation. I commend Judge Guzman Urquilla for his professionalism, impartiality, persistence and determination to move this case forward. I look forward to the next round of hearings in the case, and to a successful conclusion, based on the evidence.
A number of other key actors can and should also help create the environment in which this case can move forward:
- A new constitutional court has been empaneled in El Salvador. The previous court overturned the amnesty law, and the magistrates encouraged and supported Judge Guzman Urquilla in advancing the El Mozote case. I hope and expect that the new court will continue to provide this support.
- El Salvador’s National Assembly will soon elect a new Attorney General or re-elect the current Attorney General. The current Attorney General created a special human rights and historic crimes unit, which has followed the El Mozote case. I hope and expect that the next Attorney General will continue support for this unit and support an active role in the El Mozote case. I also hope that the National Assembly will recognize the importance of these investigations in consolidating the rule of law and ending impunity in El Salvador and do nothing to make investigations or prosecutions more difficult.
- The Salvadoran military should cooperate fully in providing information and archives as requested by the judge. Cooperation would demonstrate their commitment both to the rule of law and to the principle of civilian control over the military.
- Finally, the U.S. government should provide through the U.S. embassy in San Salvador political support and any training needed by the judge in the case. All U.S agencies, especially our defense and intelligence agencies, should review their files for documents from El Salvador covering the period of late 1981 and early 1982 that might shed light on the actors and decision makers who ordered and carried out the El Mozote massacre. They should provide these archives to the judge presiding over the case, as well as the attorneys representing the victims and survivors of the massacre.
The El Mozote massacre — considered one of the worst human rights crimes ever to take place in Latin America — was an atrocity that should never have happened. The U.S. has an obligation to support the pursuit of justice in this case.
For my part, I remain committed to supporting the survivors and their attorneys, honoring the memory of those who died, and supporting the rule of law and an end to impunity in El Salvador. It is critical that this case continue to advance.”
