Two suspects in the murder of four Dutch IKON journalists in 1982 were arrested on Friday in El Salvador, reportedly zembla. It is the first time that arrests have been made in the 40-year-old murder case.
El Salvador also asks the United States to extradite Colonel Mario Reyes Mena. He is considered to be the main culprit in the murder. zembla tracked down the location of Reyes Mena in 2018.
The suspects arrested are former Defense Minister General Guillermo García and Colonel Francisco Antonio Morán, then director of a special police force.
García lived in the United States until 2016. He was deported due to his history of human rights violations in El Salvador.
The suspects will appear in court on Monday in Chalatenango. According to zembla Dutch justice is coming to El Salvador to talk to the two.
Journalists were ambushed
Journalists Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemsen and Hans ter Laag published a report for IKON in 1982 on the violent civil war in El Salvador. When they tried to enter the guerrilla territory controlled by the leftist insurgent FMLN, they were attacked by the government army and shot and killed. According to research, the order for the massacre came from Reyes Mena.
Activists and relatives have long been trying to bring those responsible to justice. Those directly responsible for the ambush, the army chief and the commander of the infantry unit involved, are no longer alive, according to Salvadoran media.
“Justice finally”, tweet Sonja ter Laag, sister of Hans ter Laag, reacted to the arrests on Sunday. “As the sister of Hans ter Laag, who was only 25 when he was murdered, I am very happy.”
