Federal court to hold hearing in lawsuit on Romero assassination

Published: 2004-08-19

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- A federal court was scheduled to hold a landmark evidentiary hearing in Fresno Aug. 24-27 to examine the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of San Salvador. The hearing was scheduled in relation to a lawsuit alleging that Modesto resident Alvaro Rafael Saravia played a key role in organizing the archbishop's murder on March 24, 1980. The prelate was assassinated as he celebrated Mass in a hospital chapel in San Salvador. The case is being heard in a U.S. court because of a federal tort law that allows victims of Salvadoran death squads to hold accountable members of those squads who have immigrated to the United States. An amnesty law in El Salvador prevents such cases from being brought in Salvadoran courts. A former captain in the Salvadoran military, Saravia served under the late Salvadoran leader Roberto D'Aubuisson, a former army major who founded El Salvador's ruling ARENA party. D'Aubuisson was widely accused of running death squads that killed thousands of suspected leftists. Evidence is expected to be presented at the civil hearing to establish Saravia's liability for the assassination and to potentially set financial damages based on the impact of the archbishop's death. Saravia's whereabouts are unknown, though he apparently used a Modesto address recently. The hearing will be conducted in his absence under default proceedings.

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