Former Salvadoran Colonel Sued in Virginia for 1982 Murder of Dutch Journalists
Zembla
Friday, October 11, 2024
Graciela Barrera and Gabriel Labrador
Leer en español
On October 9, the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) filed a civil lawsuit in the United States against retired Salvadoran Colonel Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena for his role in the assassination of four Dutch journalists in Chalatenango 42 years ago, on Mar. 17, 1982. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia by Gert Kuiper, the brother of Jan Kuiper, who was murdered alongside three of his colleagues by the Salvadoran Army.
The killing of Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag, and Johannes Willemsen is, according to the U.N. Truth Commission, one of the most emblematic cases of grave human rights violations perpetrated during the Salvadoran civil war (1980-1992). The four journalists had arrived in El Salvador at the end of February 1982 as part of their coverage for Interkerkelijke Omroep Nederland (IKON), a Dutch television and radio station.
According to the U.N. report, the journalists were traveling to Chalatenango to cover the conflict, guided by members of the guerrilla organizations, when they were ambushed and executed by the Army. Five days prior to the attack, Kooster had been detained for hours and interrogated by the Treasury Police.
The lawsuit cites investigations by the U.S. Embassy on the evening of the assassinations and the following morning, which concluded that Reyes and other military leaders had planned to cover up the massacre by claiming that it had occurred during a firefight. But U.S. investigators found evidence that the only ones who had fired weapons at the scene had been members of the Army patrol.
The lawsuit states that in 1984, two years after the crime, Colonel Reyes Mena was transferred to the United States as military attaché of the Salvadoran government in Washington, D.C. The colonel went on to make regular visits to El Salvador through 2022.
Colonel Mario Reyes Mena, named by the Truth Commission as responsible for the assassination of four Dutch journalists in 1982, was interviewed by the Dutch channel Zembla at his home in the United States. Photo courtesy of Zembla
More:
https://elfaro.net/en/202410/el_salvador/27595/former-salvadoran-colonel-sued-in-virginia-for-1982-murder-of-dutch-journalists