Alvaro Saravia
A Salvadoran citizen and a former Captain in the Salvadoran Air Force, Alvaro Saravia was a resident of the city of Modesto in the Central Valley of California at the time CJA filed suit against him. In 1979, Saravia left the Salvadoran military, and from that time worked closely with reputed death squad leader Roberto D’Aubuisson. D’Aubuisson, in conjunction with elements of the Salvadoran armed forces and far right Salvadoran civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala and the United States founded the far right political movement Frente Amplio Nacional (“FAN”) and the far right political party Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (“ARENA”). D’Aubuisson organized death squads – paramilitary organizations composed of civilians and military figures – that systematically carried out politically-motivated assassinations and other human rights abuses in El Salvador. D’Aubuisson died of cancer in 1992, without ever having been brought to justice for his crimes.
Saravia lived in the United States since at least 1987, when he was jailed for 14 months on immigration and extradition charges. Salvadoran prosecutors sought his extradition for his role in the Romero assassination but the Salvadoran Supreme Court later withdrew the extradition request in a decision denounced as dubious and politically motivated by the U.N. Truth Commission, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and many human rights organizations.
Saravia was released from a U.S. federal prison on bond in 1988 following the Salvadoran Court’s decision and took up residence in California and Florida. It is believed that Saravia went into hiding, after the filing of CJA’s case against him in 2003. Although he remains on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s most wanted list, there is reason to believe that Saravia now resides in Latin America.
On March 24, 2006 the Miami Herald published an interview with Saravia in which he acknowledged his role in the murder of Archbishop Romero and indicated that he was at work on a book detailing the roles of his co-conspirators. [1] In the interview, Saravia stated that he knows the identity of the shooter, but said he would only divulge it in exchange for guarantees of his safety. According to the Herald, the interview was conducted in an unnamed Latin American country, per Saravia’s request.
NOTES
[1] “Pide perdón el acusado del asesinato de Monseñor Romero”, Gerardo Reyes, El Nuevo Herald, April2, 2006. Available at: http://www.grupotortuga.com/Pide-perdon-el-acusado-del Accessed: 2009-08-28. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5jNTnvrMF)
