Top Salvadoran ex-military officers sentenced for wartime killing of Dutch journalists
The three were charged on Tuesday for the killings of journalists Koos Joster, Jan Kuiper Joop, Johannes Jan Wilemsen and Hans ter Laag, who were reporting for IKON Television during a 1982 military ambush on a group of former Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas - some of whom were armed.
A U.N. truth commission 11 years later found the ambush was "deliberately planned to surprise and kill the journalists."
The trial was closed and details about the defendants' pleas and arguments were not made public.
El Salvador's civil war stretched from 1980 to 1992, pitting leftist guerrillas against the U.S.-backed Salvadoran army and leaving 75,000 people dead and 8,000 more missing.
Former Defense Minister General Jose Guillermo Garcia was sentenced by a jury in the northern town of Chalatenango, alongside two colonels: former Treasury Police chief Francisco Moran and former infantry brigade commander Mario Reyes.
All three - respectively aged 91, 93 and 85 - were sentenced in absentia. Garcia and Moran are in hospital under custody and Reyes currently lives in the United States though El Salvador is in the process of seeking his return.
"Truth and justice have prevailed, we have won," Oscar Perez, a representative of the Comunicandonos Foundation that represents some of the relatives, told reporters. "The victims are the focus now; not the perpetrators."
Prosecutors had requested the 15-year sentence, taking into account the military officers' age and health conditions.
The jury also issued a civil condemnation to the Salvadoran state over the delay in delivering justice, a symbolic measure that obliges the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, President Nayib Bukele, to publicly ask for forgiveness from the victims' families.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
I am a retired prison governor: Reform is the only party I trust on law and order
I am a retired prison governor. I was the governor at HMP Wormwood Scrubs for four years, and I served in the Prison Service for a total of 27 years. My mission with Reform UK is singular: to build a law and order taskforce that is equipped for Government, ready to crack down on crime and lock away the most dangerous offenders. I have never been a member of any political party. My involvement with Reform is not driven by political ambition, but by a deep commitment to cleaning up our streets and keeping Britons safe. That independence puts me in a unique position to recognise the decline of our criminal justice system and the alarming rise in crime free from partisan bias. With nearly 27 years of experience in this field, I believe that, together with Colin Sutton, we can lead a powerful and effective force to tackle crime, root out corruption, and fix our broken justice system. Throughout my time in law and order, the establishment parties have failed this country on a massive scale. Under successive governments, many crime statistics are rising. Attacks on prison officers are at record highs, with more than 10,000 assaults reported in just the last 12 months. Inside our prisons, the crisis is deepening. Incidents of drug finds have risen by 25 per cent in the past year, weapons finds have increased by 12 per cent, and mobile phone finds are up by 14 per cent. These are not isolated figures; they paint a clear picture of a justice system spiralling out of control, a system broken by the mismanagement of both Labour and the Conservatives. Neither the Tories nor Labour have put forward any real solution. Instead, they've quietly released tens of thousands of prisoners early, putting public safety at risk. They have ignored the voices of police, probation officers, prison staff, and the communities who deal with the consequences of their failures every day. Establishment politicians continue to pretend that Britain isn't becoming lawless, but we all know it is. This country bears no resemblance to what it was in my youth. Kids were playing in the streets, and theft was an unfortunate but incredibly seldom occurrence. We see the result of the establishment's policies on a daily basis: rampant criminality on the streets, repeat offenders facing little consequences, and our towns and cities becoming increasingly unsafe. Our prisons perform a necessary function in society: to protect the public, to punish, and of course, to rehabilitate. Under previous Tory and Labour governments, this has fallen by the wayside. We are now warehousing prisoners and releasing better criminals back into our communities. This has to change. The problem isn't beyond repair. It just requires a no tolerance attitude, a system where every crime is properly investigated, and one where the punishment actually fits the crime. What we have now is a system where people are serving lengthy sentences for social media posts, yet some criminals and sex offenders can walk free after a laughably short sentence. We need to send the message that the United Kingdom is a no nonsense place. One where laws are enforced, crimes are prosecuted, and anti-social behaviour is not tolerated. I believe Reform has been the only party vocal about the issue, and the only one willing to put politics aside for the betterment of the country. When I started at HMP Wormwood, I was assigned the task of cleaning up the D-wing. The D-wing was the worst of the worst, where the lifers were. It was dirty, rundown, and had a major drug problem. I carried out the job thoroughly, with zero tolerance for disrespect or disorderly behaviour. The governor at the time asked me to bring that same approach to every wing of the prison. Throughout my career in the prison system, I've maintained a no-nonsense, persistent stance toward crime and those who show contempt for the rules of society. I will bring that same determination and discipline to my role within Reform UK. We need to back the prison service, support its staff, and ensure our officers can do their jobs without fear. I believe Reform UK can help make that a reality and restore law and order across Britain. Above all, I'm proud to be part of a movement committed to restoring common sense and effective policing throughout the country. This is a party that prioritises the safety and freedom of every Briton.
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
MTG urges Donald Trump to commute George Santos' prison sentence
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on the Trump administration to commute the sentence of former Congressman George Santos, who was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. ' George Santos has taken responsibility,' Greene wrote on X, sharing a letter she sent to the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney. 'He's shown remorse. It's time to correct this injustice.' 'I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions,' the letter reads. 'However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.' Greene claimed Santos, who has sold Cameo videos speaking to fans and hosted a podcast playing on his reputation called Pants on Fire, was 'sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.' In April, Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and identity theft after pleading guilty last year and agreeing to nearly $374,000 in restitution payments. The following month, the former New York representative, who prosecutors accused of pocketing thousands of dollars in donor funds, appealed to the president for a full pardon. 'Previously, I was not entertaining a pardon because I didn't know what my judgment would be. Now, I am in the process of filling an application to a pardon for the president. I'll take a commutation, a clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,' Santos said in an interview with Piers Morgan. 'I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me,' he added. 'There was a lot of politicization over the process.' Santos, 37, is now in custody at a federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey. He was expelled from Congress in December 2023, following the release of a damning ethics report. He shared a goodbye post on X before entering prison thanking his allies and critics alike. 'Well, darlings…The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote. 'From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.' Santos was charged with 23 felony counts for three alleged schemes to use donor money and government assistance funds to enrich himself while running for Congress. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Republican, who was elected in 2022, also grabbed headlines for exaggerating details about his education and work experience, as well as his mother's whereabouts during 9/11 and his Jewish heritage. Greene has sought presidential intervention for controversial figures before. In May, she asked the president to pardon Derek Chauvin, the then-Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd in a widely seen 2020 incident that set off national protests.
Sky News
8 hours ago
- Sky News
Prison system came 'within days of collapse' - and not just once
The prison system was close to collapse on a number of occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, an independent review by former chief inspector of prisons, Dame Anne Owers, has found. The report, which was published on Tuesday, said there was a systemic problem which has led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years. Dame Anne warned there is an urgent need for senior staff in the justice system to move from crisis management to a more strategic approach to avoid repeated issues. The report also stressed the importance of having enough capacity in probation and other community services, as they are critical to prevent offending and reoffending. The report, which was commissioned by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood in February, also detailed the financial cost of the crisis. It found the price of holding prisoners in police cells reached over £70m, while construction costs for new prisons nearly doubled to £10.1bn. 0:33 Prisons struggling to 'work effectively and safely' Dame Anne said: "The scale, likelihood, risks, and consequences of the prison capacity crisis could not have been signalled more clearly, at every level of government. "The response was last-minute short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions to the underlying problems." She said the crises had spanned successive governments, and "seriously affected prisons' ability to work effectively and safely". Rather than just invest in prisons themselves, the government should pour more money into community provision to help reduce offending and reoffending, she added. Other recommendations include: • Putting in place a 10-year plan for capacity in probation and community services • Setting up an independent body to provide advice and check the plans of prison and probation services • Getting the HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Board to evaluate the Prison Service 2:28 'Close to total collapse' Ms Mahmood, the justice secretary, said: "This report lays bare the disgraceful way the last Conservative government ran our prisons. "They added less than 500 cells to the prison estate over 14 years, released over 10,000 prisoners early under a veil of secrecy, and brought our jails close to total collapse on countless occasions."
