The Jesuits Massacre Case

The United States has indicted Inocente Orlando Montano, a retired Salvadoran colonel and a defendant in CJA's Jesuits Massacre Case in Spain, on federal criminal immigration fraud and perjury charges. Montano is accused of making false statement regarding his involvement in human rights abuses in his application for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian immigration benefit for Salvadorans unable to return safely to their home country.

In the early morning of August 23, 2011, Federal officials took into custody Inocente Orlando Montano, former Salvadoran minister responsible for the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests and two women, on charges of lying on immigration documents that he filed with the federal government after taking up residence in Massachusetts in 2004.

On August 24, 2011, the Salvadoran Supreme Court ordered the release of nine former Salvadoran military officials responsible for the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests and two women, including the former Defense Minister Rafael Humberto Larios and Air Force General Rafael Bustillo. The defendants had been in custody since August 7, 2011, when they surrendered themselves to military authorities to avoid being detained by the National Civil Police, but were transferred to a civilian court. The former military officials have been indicted in Spain for crimes against humanity and state terrorism.

On May 30, 2011, a Spanish judge issued a 77-page indictment and arrest warrants for 20 Salvadoran ex-officers who have been charged with crimes against humanity and state terrorism for their role in the murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her sixteen year old daughter in 1989. The defendants, the majority of whom are still residents of El Salvador, have ten days to surrender to authorities before additional steps will be taken to ensure their arrest.

The expert testimony of lawyers from the Pro Human Rights Association of Spain and witnesses Terry Karl of Stanford University and Kate Doyle of the National Security Archive was presented before the Spanish National Court in the Jesuits Massacre Case. Two Salvadoran witnesses, whose names are being withheld for security reasons, also testified.