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March 16, 2015

Court Upholds Deportation Order for Salvadoran General in Landmark Human Rights Case 
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An immigration appeals court has upheld the deportation order of a
former El Salvadoran general accused of murder and torture. Carlos
Eugenio Vides Casanova is wanted in El Salvador for his role in the
notorious killings of four U.S. churchwomen in 1980. A 2012 decision
marked the first time an immigration judge ordered a top-ranking foreign
military leader deported under a 2004 law intended to bar human rights
violators from U.S. soil. Vides was a close U.S. government ally during
his stint as defense minister for the Salvadoran junta between 1983 and
1989. The churchwomen's families have fought for years to hold him and
other U.S.-backed Salvadoran officials responsible for the deaths. In a
ruling last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals found there is ample
evidence Vides was complicit in the Americans' rape and murder as well
as the torture of political prisoners. Vides, who lives in Florida, can
still appeal in federal court.

 

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