Spain seeks extradition of Salvadoran officers accused of murdering priests
On Friday, the Spanish government accepted Judge Eloy Velasco's request that it formally request the extradition of fifteen former Salvadoran military officials, two of whom currently reside in the US. (AP, Contrapunto).
The men are wanted in connection with the massacre of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter at the University of Central America in November 1989. The Spanish judge wants them extradited so that they can stand trial on charges of murder, terrorism, and crimes against humanity.
I still can't see the men actually being extradited to Spain. In the past, legal processes begun in Spain do seem to have had an effect on helping to start or give extra support to proceedings in Chile and Guatemala. I am hopeful that Spain's actions will have the same effect in El Salvador. However, for the most part, the Salvadoran courts and President Mauricio Funes have shown little indication that they are overly interested in reopening the case in El Salvador.
--- Mike Allison is an associate professor in the Political Science Department and a member of the Latin American and Women's Studies Department at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. You can follow his Central American Politics blog here.
