U N R E D A C T E D 738 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE WESTERN DIVISION ------------------------------------------------------- ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ, CECILIA ) SANTOS, JOSE FRANCISCO ) CALDERON, ERLINDA FRANCO, AND ) DANIEL ALVARADO, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) VS. ) NO. 03-2932-Ml/P ) ) NICOLAS CARRANZA, ) ) Defendant. ) ------------------------------------------------------- TRIAL PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE HONORABLE JON PHIPPS MCCALLA, JUDGE NOVEMBER 4, 2005 VOLUME V BRENDA PARKER OFFICIAL REPORTER SUITE 942 FEDERAL BUILDING 167 NORTH MAIN STREET MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 38103 739 A P P E A R A N C E S Appearing on behalf of the Plaintiffs: BASS BERRY & SIMS PLC 315 DEADERICK STREET, SUITE 2700 NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37238-3001 By: DAVID R. ESQUIVEL, ESQ. CAROLYN PATTY BLUM, ESQ. CENTER FOR JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY 291 WEST 12TH STREET NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014 MATTHEW J. EISENBRANDT, ESQ. CENTER FOR JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY 870 MARKET STREET, SUITE 684 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94102 Appearing on behalf of the Defendant: FARGARSON & BROOKE 65 UNION AVENUE 9TH FLOOR MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 38103 By: ROBERT M. FARGARSON, ESQ. BRUCE BROOKE, ESQ. 740 W I T N E S S I N D E X WITNESS PAGE LINE ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. EISENBRANDT: ................... 743 8 CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. FARGARSON: ..................... 769 9 DANIEL ALVARDAO DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ESQUIVEL: ...................... 773 8 CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. FARGARSON: ..................... 840 5 REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ESQUIVEL: ...................... 855 23 DEPOSITION TESTIMONY OF NICHOLAS CARRANZA 861 1 741 E X H I B I T I N D E X EXHIBIT NUMBER PAGE LINE Exhibit Number 14 Photograph 746 6 Exhibit Number 15 Photograph 750 11 Exhibit Number 16 Photograph 759 22 Exhibit Number 17 Stipulation 769 6 Exhibit Number 18 Photograph 846 2 Exhibit Number 19 Photograph 846 20 742 1 FRIDAY MORNING & AFTERNOON 2 NOVEMBER 4, 2005 3 The jury trial in this case resumed on this 4 date, Friday, November 4, 2005, at 9:05 o'clock a.m., when 5 and where evidence was introduced and proceedings were had 6 as follows: 7 8 ____________ 9 10 THE COURT: We can bring the jury back in, we 11 can have our first witness ready to come in as soon as the 12 jury is here. 13 (Jury in at 9:07 a.m.) 14 THE COURT: All right. You may be seated. 15 Counsel, who will our next witness be? 16 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, we call Ana 17 Patricia Chavez. 18 THE CLERK: Ma'am, if you will raise your right 19 hand to be sworn. Do you solemnly swear to tell the 20 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help 21 you God? 22 THE WITNESS: Yes. 23 THE CLERK: You may take the witness stand. 24 25 DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 743 1 (Francis Icaza previously sworn to interpret 2 English into Spanish and Spanish into English.) 3 ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 4 was thereupon called as a witness on behalf of the 5 Plaintiffs, and having been first duly sworn, was 6 examined and testified as follows: 7 DIRECT EXAMINATION 8 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 9 Q. Good morning, Ms. Chavez. 10 A. Good morning. 11 Q. Where do you live? 12 A. In Los Angeles. 13 Q. Where do you work? 14 A. At an orthopedic clinic, housekeeping. 15 Q. Are you married? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. How long have you been married? 18 A. Seventeen years. 19 Q. Were you ever married before that? 20 A. Yes. 21 Q. What is your current husband's name? 22 A. Ricardo Antonio Portillo. 23 Q. And does he live in Los Angeles as well? 24 A. Yes. 25 Q. And what was your previous husband's name? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 744 1 A. Carlos Omar Reyes Portillo. 2 Q. Do you have any children? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. What are their names? 5 A. Carla Linnette, Bryan Ricardo, Luis Alberto and Diana 6 Elizabeth. 7 Q. Do you have any brothers and sisters? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. What are their names? 10 A. Do I have to say my name? 11 Q. No, just your brothers and sisters. 12 A. Alma America, Aidee Del Carmen and Oscar Jose. 13 Q. Where does Alma live? 14 A. In El Salvador. 15 Q. And where do Aidee and Oscar live? 16 A. In Los Angeles. 17 Q. What is your immigration status in the United States? 18 A. I'm a resident. 19 Q. Tell us where you were born. 20 A. In Ahuachapan. 21 Q. Is that in El Salvador? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Is that where you grew up as well? 24 A. Yes. 25 Q. When did you come to the United States? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 745 1 A. In December of 1982. 2 Q. What kind of education have you had? 3 A. Well, I got as far as 12th. 4 Q. Would that be like high school then? 5 A. Yes. Secretary school. 6 Q. Tell us a little bit what Ahuachapan is like where you 7 grew up. 8 A. Well, in those days, it was a very calm town where one 9 could move about peacefully. And then after that, there was 10 kind of like coup d’etat, and they were killing the teachers. 11 They killed a lot of people. 12 Q. Prior to that time when you were a child, tell us a 13 little bit about your life growing up, tell us a little bit 14 about your family growing up. 15 A. Well, I would go to school. The little school, it was 16 a school run by nuns, and my parents worked as teachers so 17 that we never wanted for anything. We were happy. 18 Q. Did you live with your parents and your brothers and 19 sisters at that time? 20 A. Yes. 21 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, may I approach 22 the witness? 23 THE COURT: You may. 24 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 25 Q. Ms. Chavez, can you tell me who is in that picture that DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 746 1 I just handed you? 2 A. It's my little sister, my mother, my dad and my cousin. 3 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, I would like to 4 move to introduce this as Exhibit 14. 5 THE COURT: So received. 6 (Exhibit Number 14 was marked. Description: 7 Photograph.) 8 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 9 Q. Ms. Chavez, can you tell the jury who your mother and 10 father are in this picture? 11 A. The lady on the right who is holding the white sweater, 12 in red. 13 Q. That's your mother? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. And who is your father? 16 A. The one wearing the blue jacket. 17 Q. What was your mother's name? 18 A. Ana Guillermina Penate de Chavez. 19 Q. What was your father's name? 20 A. Oscar Humberto Chavez. 21 Q. And you said both of your parents were teachers? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. They were teachers in Ahuachapan? 24 A. Yes. 25 Q. Do you know the name of the school where your mother DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 747 1 taught? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. What was it called? 4 A. Carlota Deon, the Widow Trigueros. It was close to the 5 house. 6 Q. Do you remember how long she was a teacher? 7 A. Ever since she graduated. She was young. 8 Q. Do you know what subjects she taught? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. Tell us those. 11 A. She taught mathematics, social studies, natural 12 studies, arts and crafts. Well, those are the ones I 13 remember. 14 Q. Do you know what grades she taught? 15 A. Yes, third and fourth. 16 Q. Did she teach any other classes outside of the regular 17 school? 18 A. Well, at that school, she was the vice-principal at the 19 same school, and then at night when she got out of school, she 20 would go and teach at the Espino, and she would be teaching 21 parents. 22 Q. What did she teach to these parents? 23 A. She taught them to write. She used to teach them so 24 they could -- see, they were parents who couldn't write, they 25 couldn't read, and they would start as if they were in first DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 748 1 grade. 2 Q. Did your father teach at the same school? 3 A. No, it was different. 4 Q. Do you remember the name of that school? 5 A. It seems to me it was called El Uano Del Espino. 6 Q. Do you know how long he was a teacher? 7 A. Ever since he graduated, him too. 8 Q. Did he teach similar classes? 9 A. What is similar? 10 Q. Well, do you remember what classes he taught? 11 A. The same as my mother. 12 Q. What was your parents' reputation in the community in 13 Ahuachapan? 14 A. They were well-known by all of the people, they were 15 loved very much. 16 Q. Were your parents members of any organizations? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. Which one? 19 A. ANDES 21 June, and my mother also belonged to the fish, 20 to duarte. 21 Q. What was ANDES? 22 A. It was a teacher's group that was trying to improve the 23 salaries for them and also for their children so their 24 children could live better. 25 Q. What were your parents' roles in ANDES? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 749 1 A. They belonged to that teachers group. 2 Q. Okay. You said your mother also belonged to the -- to 3 Duarte and the fish, is that a political party? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. And when you say the fish, was that -- some sort of 6 symbol? 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. What memory do you have of your parents from growing 9 up? 10 A. My father was a volunteer at night with the Red Cross. 11 Now, the Red Cross in my town was a group, they would -- you 12 know, they would go and get -- help people who were hurt, to 13 take them to the hospital. Pregnant women, you know, just 14 help people who needed help. I call them very good parents 15 because, thank God, we never lacked anything. 16 Q. Ms. Chavez, I want to talk to you about the year 1980. 17 A. Okay. 18 Q. In 1980, were you working or were you in school? 19 A. I was studying in San Salvador. 20 Q. And what were you studying? 21 A. Secretary school. 22 Q. Does that mean you were training to become a secretary? 23 A. Yes. 24 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, may I approach 25 the witness? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 750 1 THE COURT: You may. 2 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 3 Q. Ms. Chavez, can you identify who is in the picture that 4 I just handed you? 5 A. It's me. 6 Q. Is that about how you looked in 1980? 7 A. Yes. 8 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, I would ask to 9 move this into evidence as Exhibit 15. 10 THE COURT: So received. 11 (Exhibit Number 15 was marked. Description: 12 Photograph.) 13 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 14 Q. Were you married at the time? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. And was that with Omar who you mentioned earlier? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. And what kind of work did he do? 19 A. Well, he was studying as well in San Salvador. Well, I 20 don't know what you call people who make iron doors, things 21 out of iron, wrought iron, I suppose kind of like an engineer, 22 I don't remember what you call them. 23 Q. So where did you and Omar live? 24 A. Well, we each lived in our own house because when I got 25 married, I was studying and he was studying, so my mom spoke DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 751 1 to, well, you could say it was my father-in-law, and they -- 2 so we could finish the last year each in their own house, and 3 they came to the agreement that when I had the baby, my 4 mother-in-law lived in San Salvador and my father lived in 5 Ahuachapan, then I would travel, so I would travel back to my 6 house every weekend back to Ahuachapan with my husband, and I 7 would go usually ahead with the baby, and he would follow me 8 the following day whenever he could, or we would go together 9 on Fridays or maybe together on Saturdays. 10 Q. So you had a baby at the time? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. So when you went to Ahuachapan on the weekends, how did 13 you spend the weekends? 14 A. Well, with my parents. 15 Q. And how would you spend the time, talking -- 16 A. Well, just like a family would, happy, happy family. 17 The way happy families do when they get together on the 18 weekends, and we would talk and we would make floral 19 arrangements, we would have lunch, dinner, you know, just an 20 everyday family. 21 Q. Did you go to Ahuachapan on the weekend of July 26th, 22 1980? 23 A. Yes, I was with them. 24 Q. Do you remember when you got there that weekend? 25 A. Well, it seems to me that I must have gotten there, I DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 752 1 must have left on Friday, because generally I would leave on 2 Friday as soon as I got out of school and I would -- and would 3 go with the baby, my little girl, and then my husband would 4 follow me the next day or whenever he could. 5 Q. Who was at the house when you got there? 6 A. My brothers and sisters, the little ones, the ones that 7 come after me. 8 Q. Is that Aidee and Oscar? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. Did anything out of the ordinary happen that night? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. What happened? 13 A. Well, it was my mother's birthday on the 25th. Well, 14 my family had prepared a celebration. My cousins, my aunts 15 and I, they prepared a luncheon for her. Then in the 16 afternoon, everyone left, and only those who lived there 17 remained, my mom and my dad, my brothers and sisters and me 18 and my husband and my little girl. 19 Q. And what happened after the celebration? 20 A. Well, everyone went back to their houses and we just -- 21 the rest of us remained until it was time for us to get ready 22 to go to bed, which would be about 10:00 or 11:00 o'clock, 23 11:00 o'clock at night. 24 Q. And what happened then? 25 A. Well, what happened was -- well, we all decided it was DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 753 1 time to go to bed, and then all of a sudden, we started 2 hearing some whistles, whistles from one side to the other, 3 and my dad says, I wonder what that is, and my mom said that's 4 very strange, we have never heard those whistles. And then we 5 started to look out the window, and we all were looking out 6 the window, and we turned out the lights and we could hear, it 7 was kind of like someone was communicating using whistles from 8 one side to the other. 9 Q. And so what did you do? 10 A. Well, since we didn't see anything, we went to bed. 11 Q. Well, what time did you get up the next morning? 12 A. Well, we had to travel back to San Salvador, so it 13 would have been maybe between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning, we 14 got up. 15 Q. Did everybody get up at that time? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. And what did you do after you got up? 18 A. Well, my brother and sister, they went to school 19 because my brother, my younger brother had a field trip, and 20 my sister had to go to school, to the other school where she 21 went. I think that day, she had physical education that day, 22 and my father and Omar, they went to get an iron gate to put 23 it -- in the house at the garage, and I got up because I had 24 to travel back to San Salvador, and I had a lot of dirty 25 clothes, so I had to wash since my husband was off with my dad DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 754 1 and the baby was asleep. 2 Q. So with your husband and your dad gone and your brother 3 and sister gone, who was left in the house? 4 A. Just me, my mom and the baby. 5 Q. So while you were doing laundry, what was your mom 6 doing? 7 A. She went into the bathroom to take a shower. 8 Q. And then what happened? 9 A. Well, it was about 6:30 or 7:00 maybe, the lady who 10 sells bread, the bread lady, and she rang the bell, and then I 11 went out to get the bread because my mother was taking a 12 shower. And then I got the bread and I started going back to 13 where I was doing the washing, and then halfway there -- I was 14 almost there at the halfway back, I saw a man who was coming 15 down the corridor in my house. 16 Q. Did you know the man? 17 A. No. 18 Q. How was he dressed? 19 A. In civilian clothes. 20 Q. Was he armed? 21 A. Yes. He had a rifle like the ones used by the guard. 22 Q. When you say the guard, do you know the full name of 23 the guard? 24 A. No, I don't remember. 25 Q. What did you do when you saw the man? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 755 1 A. Well, I asked him what he wanted, and he didn't answer 2 me, and I kept on asking him what do you want. He just kept 3 on walking and looking all over the place, and I kept on 4 saying, you know, what are you looking for, what do you want. 5 Well, he walked around the living room, and then he went into 6 the living room, and I was following him, and I was following 7 him, and he didn't answer me; and then that's when my mom was 8 coming out of the bathroom, and he grabbed her and he dragged 9 her, and he threw her on the bed. And then -- then I saw 10 there were a whole bunch of men in the room, in her room, and 11 they threw her on the bed and they threw me on the bed, and 12 then there was -- they were masked, they wore masks, and then 13 they took off their masks. And then I began to pray and to 14 pray and to pray so that nothing would happen to us. And they 15 would beat her and beat her, beat my mother, and they were 16 demanding the propaganda and the money. And my mother would 17 say I don't have anything, what do you want, I don't have 18 anything. 19 Q. And how were these men dressed? 20 A. In civilian clothes. 21 Q. Were they armed? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Do you know what they meant by propaganda? 24 A. Well, the truth of the matter is no, I don't, but I 25 think that because my mother belonged to the Duarte people, DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 756 1 the political party, that's what they call it. 2 Q. While they were beating your mother, where were you? 3 A. Next to her. 4 Q. And then what happened? 5 A. Well, see, they threw me on the bed too, and then -- 6 and they threw something over me kind of like a towel or 7 something, and I was trying to lift it up a little bit to see 8 what they were doing. And when they saw me, that I was 9 lifting the towel to see, they decided to take me out of the 10 room, and so they began to lift me up, but all I could hear 11 was that they were beating my mother. As they were lifting me 12 up, I could hear them beating her, beating my mom. And my mom 13 was complaining, and she was and saying I don't have anything, 14 and they continued to beat her. And they kept on searching 15 through the whole room, and then they got me out, and I began 16 to pray, to pray so that they wouldn't do anything to us. The 17 baby was asleep. 18 Q. And were you still in the room with your mother at that 19 time? 20 A. Yes, but since they saw me, that I was looking, they 21 took me out of there and they took me to my room. 22 Q. And when you were in your room, what were you thinking? 23 A. Well, they grabbed me and they pulled me out, and I was 24 very scared. I was thinking they're going to rape me, they're 25 going to kill my little girl, and I just prayed and prayed, DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 757 1 prayed so that nothing would happen to us. And then they 2 threw me on my bed, and they closed the door, and I kept on 3 praying and praying so that nothing would happen to us, that 4 they wouldn't kill us. And then I thought suddenly that the 5 sink was filling up with the clothes, and then they turned on 6 the radio very loud, it was -- you could hear a blaring radio, 7 and they left me there, locked in there by myself and I could 8 think only of my mom. After that, I couldn't hear anything, 9 and I said what happened, what happened. Just the radio 10 blaring, that's all you could hear, and you couldn't hear them 11 talking about anything. Then I heard some very loud gunshots, 12 and I said they killed my mother, and I began to cry and to 13 cry, and then I didn't hear anything. I was there in the room 14 terrified. 15 Q. How long did you wait in the room, do you remember? 16 A. Maybe a half an hour, maybe an hour, I don't remember. 17 Q. And then what did you do? 18 A. Well, after I heard the gunshots, I stayed there. Like 19 I told you, I was there praying with the door closed. And 20 then after awhile, after awhile I didn't -- after I didn't 21 hear anything, I opened the door very carefully, and I looked 22 all around to see what I could see, and then after that, I 23 heard nothing, and then I went to my mom and dad's room, and 24 then I saw my mother there dead, sprawled on the bed bleeding. 25 Q. And then what did you do? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 758 1 A. Well, I walked out through the living room, and I was 2 screaming for help. And people were looking at me, and I was 3 saying, help me, my mom is dead. And then the two guys, the 4 two men who were working in the house, they were doing some 5 building in the house, and I told them, I said, my mom is 6 dead, haven't you seen my dad and Omar. No, they said. So I 7 kept on asking for help, for people to help me. Then people 8 begin to gather around, and then a young girl who lives close 9 to the school down -- a little bit down the street from my 10 house, she lives -- well, in between the school and my house 11 in some little tiny rooms that they had there, and she said to 12 me, there's a young man down there, he's dead, I don't know if 13 it is your husband. I said take me, take me there to see if 14 it is him. And when I went to see, he was there, he was 15 sprawled in the ground with his head as if he had hit it 16 against a rock, and they had shot him through the forehead. 17 Q. And then what happened? 18 A. Well, since he was sprawled there and I turned around 19 and I was going back to the house, and I was asking the people 20 what had happened to my dad, and they would say, I don't know, 21 I haven't seen him. So while I was walking, I saw all of the 22 people gathering around in the street, around the house, 23 around my house, and I walked in through the yard, gate, that 24 was the gate that they were going to install, and I walked, 25 and when I got to the corridor, I saw my dad there on the DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 759 1 floor covered in blood, his head was covered in blood, and 2 somebody had placed something kind of like a kerchief over his 3 head so you couldn't see what they had done to him. 4 Q. Do you remember anything after that? 5 A. Well, I remember that my -- I asked them to go and find 6 my brother and sister, and I was screaming for the judge, the 7 lawyer who had to come and identify the bodies. And the judge 8 came and identified them, and I don't want to remember 9 anything else. 10 Q. Did you attend the funeral for your parents and for 11 your husband? 12 A. Yes. 13 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, may I approach 14 the witness? 15 THE COURT: You may. 16 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 17 Q. Can you tell us what that is a picture? 18 A. My mom and my dad and my husband. 19 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, we would move to 20 enter this as Exhibit 16. 21 THE COURT: Exhibit 16, so received. 22 (Exhibit Number 16 was marked. Description: 23 Photograph.) 24 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 25 Q. After your mother and father and husband were killed, DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 760 1 where did you live? 2 A. In that same house. 3 Q. In Ahuachapan? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. Was it safe to live there? 6 A. We had nowhere else to go. 7 Q. Who did you live with? 8 A. My grandmom stayed with us. 9 Q. How long did your brother stay with you there? I'm 10 sorry, how long did your brother stay with you there? 11 A. Well, I was scared because my brother was feeling -- he 12 was the last, he was the smallest, he felt hate because they 13 killed my mom and my dad, and he felt great resentment, why 14 had they done that, he was going to get revenge. 15 Q. I'm sorry, go ahead. 16 A. Well, I was very scared for him, and so I talked to an 17 aunt that we have here to tell her that we were going to send 18 him here, and then we would follow him after that because, 19 well, they had taken my baby. Well, we sent him over here, 20 and I lost my baby because my mother-in-law took her from me 21 because her son was killed, and she was -- she took the baby, 22 and then I was all by myself, I felt very lonely, I had no 23 support from anyone, I had no support neither financially or 24 of any type, and then I tried to get in touch with my baby, 25 but -- and I couldn't and I lost communication with her for a DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 761 1 long time until I was able to communicate with her last year. 2 Q. Ms. Chavez, why did you file this case? 3 A. Well, because I got the opportunity. 4 MR. EISENBRANDT: Thank you, Your Honor. I 5 pass the witness. 6 THE COURT: Cross examination? 7 MR. FARGARSON: Your Honor, would you excuse me 8 a minute to ask counsel a question? 9 THE COURT: Certainly, that's fine. 10 MR. FARGARSON: Can we approach for just a 11 moment? 12 THE COURT: You may. 13 (The following proceedings had at side-bar 14 bench.) 15 MR. FARGARSON: Well, what this is, in her 16 deposition, she said that she was not married, that, you 17 know, this -- she called him a husband, but she wasn't 18 married. In court today, she said she is married. And I 19 had told David, you know, I didn't want to unnecessarily 20 embarrass her, but that's an inconsistent statement. 21 THE COURT: Sure. 22 MR. FARGARSON: And all I said is if we can 23 reach some stipulation in the presence of the jury that 24 she wasn't married, then that will get rid of that issue. 25 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, this was -- this DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 762 1 was a common law marriage in El Salvador. Many, many 2 people were married without having the official stamp of 3 approval of a marriage certificate, it is a very common 4 thing in El Salvador. I understand the technical 5 inconsistency. 6 THE COURT: Which is ceremony, but no official 7 ceremony? 8 MR. EISENBRANDT: They may not have even had a 9 ceremony, it may have been a matter of spending their life 10 together, and it is very common. I just think that this 11 is not something that needs to go in front of the jury. 12 It seems overly embarrassing and prejudicial to her. 13 THE COURT: It is the kind of question that if 14 counsel wishes to ask it, he may. 15 MR. FARGARSON: Well, here is what it was, I 16 said when you and Omar married, that was the question, I 17 didn't get married, I lived with him. Now, that's the 18 inconsistency. 19 THE COURT: You can certainly ask that if you 20 want to. 21 MR. ESQUIVEL: Your Honor, may we confer a 22 moment for a potential stipulation? 23 THE COURT: If you have a stipulation, that's 24 fine, we will take a 10-minute break and let you talk 25 about it, but otherwise, we will just proceed. DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 763 1 MR. FARGARSON: Like I say, my point is I don't 2 want to cause her any undue embarrassment, but by the same 3 token, I don't want to leave that impression that -- 4 THE COURT: There is nothing wrong with the 5 inquiry. 6 MR. FARGARSON: So if you can reach a 7 stipulation, just tell that to the jury, I won't have to 8 get into that, that's all I'm saying. And I have got to 9 ask it otherwise. 10 MS. BLUM: We will take the opportunity to 11 confer amongst ourselves and see what we can come up with. 12 THE COURT: I will let you talk about it. 13 Otherwise, we just need to go ahead. Sure. 14 (The following proceedings were had in open 15 court.) 16 THE COURT: The parties would like 10 minutes, 17 and then we will come back. We will take a 10-minute 18 break. Don't discuss the case among yourselves, don't let 19 anybody talk with you. 20 THE CLERK: All rise. This honorable court 21 stands in recess for 10 minutes. 22 (Recess taken at 10:10 until 10:20 a.m.) 23 THE COURT: Are we ready? 24 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, should we 25 approach before the jury comes in? DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 764 1 THE COURT: Sure, if you have an announcement. 2 If there is not one, we don't need to. Is there an 3 agreement? 4 MR. EISENBRANDT: We have a possible 5 stipulation. 6 THE COURT: Sure, why don't you come around, 7 you can tell me. We will let y'all be seated and we will 8 find out the situation. Yes, sir. 9 (The following proceedings had at side-bar 10 bench.) 11 MR. EISENBRANDT: Your Honor, we have 12 stipulated to a statement similar to this if the court 13 would just simply read that for the jury. 14 MR. FARGARSON: Well, but it needs to say she 15 isn't married. 16 MR. EISENBRANDT: Okay. 17 MR. FARGARSON: It needs to say that, and that 18 there was the other understanding that I had understood 19 David to say that there was no claim being made. See, 20 that's the problem. The jury thinks there's a marriage. 21 MR. EISENBRANDT: Well, okay, we can certainly 22 stipulate to that, that she is not bringing a claim for 23 Omar. We can use the name rather than saying husband or 24 partner. 25 MR. FARGARSON: So even if they weren't DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 765 1 married, officially married, which they weren't, and she 2 is making -- 3 MR. EISENBRANDT: That's fine, I can add that 4 that on there. 5 MR. FARGARSON: Okay. 6 MR. EISENBRANDT: I would say which they were 7 not. 8 MR. FARGARSON: Which they were not. You 9 probably can't read my writing, you write a lot better. 10 MR. EISENBRANDT: That's fine, I would be happy 11 to finish it, if you want. 12 MR. FARGARSON: Which they were not. 13 Judge, thank you for your patience in dealing 14 with this, and that will eliminate that issue. And this 15 isn't going to take me long. 16 MR. EISENBRANDT: Would Your Honor read that? 17 THE COURT: Normally, the stipulation is read 18 by the parties. I mean I can read it if you want me. 19 MR. FARGARSON: I would prefer the court do it. 20 MR. EISENBRANDT: I would too. 21 MR. FARGARSON: I would prefer that, I think 22 that gives it more -- 23 MR. BROOKE: I don't want to read it myself. 24 MR. FARGARSON: I think it gives it a little 25 more dignity. DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 766 1 THE COURT: That's fine, I will read it. Make 2 sure I can read it okay. 3 MR. EISENBRANDT: Yes, you can check and see if 4 you can read my writing. 5 MR. FARGARSON: Make sure you can read my 6 writing. 7 MR. EISENBRANDT: I would have to check his 8 last name. 9 MR. BROOKE: The man Omar. 10 THE COURT: What was Omar's last name? 11 MR. EISENBRANDT: Carlos Omar Reyes Portillo, 12 but I would think Omar Reyes is sufficient for the jury. 13 THE COURT: This is fine, I will read that. 14 MR. EISENBRANDT: Okay. Thank you, Your Honor. 15 MR. FARGARSON: Thank you, Your Honor. 16 THE COURT: Okay. 17 (The following proceedings were had in open 18 court.) 19 THE COURT: This is an agreed upon statement, 20 but she needs to hear it from the translator, because if 21 it is stipulated, certainly need to be comfortable that 22 the plaintiff agrees to it, is that okay? 23 MR. EISENBRANDT: Yes, sir. 24 THE COURT: Would you mind translating that? 25 We have used Omar Reyes, which I hope is sufficient to DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 767 1 identify him. 2 (The interpreter conferred with the witness.) 3 THE INTERPRETER: Okay. The witness did make 4 an explanation to me if it is of any use to Your Honor. 5 THE COURT: Let me have one at side so we -- 6 just come up for a second. 7 (The following proceedings had at side-bar 8 bench.) 9 THE COURT: I think you should tell us what she 10 said. 11 THE INTERPRETER: Yes. I'm unsure of the 12 relevance of it, and it is not mine to determine. She 13 explains that he was Carlos Omar Portillo, which is his 14 mother's surname, that he had used Reyes because it was 15 his stepfather's surname, but not customarily. She said 16 she doesn't know why, but when the judge came to do the 17 identification of the body, in the documents, they 18 included the Reyes. 19 THE COURT: I see what you're saying. I don't 20 know that it will matter. 21 MR. EISENBRANDT: I don't think it will matter 22 to the jury. 23 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you very much. 24 THE INTERPRETER: Certainly, sir. At your 25 service. DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 768 1 MR. FARGARSON: She identified him in the 2 deposition by the name that we have used. 3 THE COURT: Okay. 4 (The following proceedings were had in open 5 court.) 6 THE COURT: Okay. We can bring the jury in. 7 (Jury in at 10:25 a.m.) 8 THE COURT: You may be seated. When the 9 parties agree on a fact or facts, they may enter into what 10 is called a stipulation. We referred to that earlier, and 11 I read to you a number of stipulations at the beginning of 12 the case. The parties have agreed to an additional 13 stipulation and asked me to read it to you at this time. 14 It will also be reduced to print and placed in the list of 15 stipulations that you have. The stipulation reads as 16 follows: When the witness refers to her husband and to 17 being married in El Salvador, she is referring to a common 18 law marriage, which was common in El Salvador at the time. 19 It was customary for a person to refer to her husband even 20 if they had not been officially married, which they were 21 not. Ms. Chavez is not bringing a claim for the death of 22 Omar Reyes. This stipulation, of course, will be included 23 so you will have it in the list of stipulations in the 24 case. 25 And Mr. Warren, we will mark it also as 17 so DIRECT - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 769 1 that -- if that is all right, so that it is clear where it 2 is in the record. 3 MR. FARGARSON: That will be fine. Thank you, 4 Your Honor. 5 THE COURT: Thank you. 6 (Exhibit Number 17 was marked. Description: 7 Stipulation.) 8 CROSS EXAMINATION 9 BY MR. FARGARSON: 10 Q. Ms. Chavez, you have -- are you ready? 11 THE INTERPRETER: Yes, sir. 12 BY MR. FARGARSON: 13 Q. You stated that the evening before these events there 14 was a celebration for your mother's birthday? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. At that time, Ms. Chavez, was there a curfew in 17 Ahuachapan? 18 A. I think so. The truth is I don't remember. 19 Q. Okay. But anyway, I understood you to say that the 20 people left the celebration at around 10 o'clock or something 21 like that? 22 A. No, they left early. We were the ones who remained, I 23 just didn't know how to explain it. 24 Q. Okay. Thank her for clearing that up. I misunderstood 25 it. CROSS - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 770 1 A. Okay. 2 Q. Now, when the lady selling the bread came to your 3 house, was that early the next morning? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. And after you bought the bread, was that when the men 6 showed up at the -- at your parents' home? 7 A. Well, after I received the bread, the lady, she told 8 me -- well, she explained it to me later on that she had seen 9 men around the house, they had threatened her so that she 10 wouldn't say anything. 11 Q. Was it daylight at that time? 12 A. Yes, it was in the morning. 13 Q. And the men that you saw were all of them in civilian 14 clothes? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. Did any of them have on any type of military clothes 17 that you could recognize? 18 A. No. 19 Q. Did all of them have on some type of a face mask or 20 face covering that you saw? 21 A. Yes, masks like those that cover the face and the mouth 22 up to the eyes, but the man that I was following, he wasn't 23 wearing anything. 24 Q. Do I understand the man that was in the hallway didn't 25 have on a mask? CROSS - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 771 1 A. No. 2 Q. Did he have on a hat or a helmet of some type? 3 A. All I remember is that he was carrying a very big 4 rifle. 5 Q. Did you ever see any vehicles around the house that 6 these men were riding in? 7 A. No. 8 Q. Did you move to the United States in 1982? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. And have you been in the United States ever since 1982? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. And when did you learn that you could file a lawsuit 13 such as the one you've filed in this case? 14 A. In December of '92. 15 Q. In December when? 16 A. '92. 17 Q. 1992? 18 A. I'm sorry, 2003. 19 Q. Okay. 20 A. December of 2003, that was the date. 21 Q. Have you ever seen Mr. Carranza before this lawsuit? 22 A. As far as I recall, no, but you did hear his name 23 mentioned a lot over there. 24 Q. Do you know what Mr. Carranza was? In other words, 25 what official post he held in 1980? CROSS - ANA PATRICIA CHAVEZ 772 1 A. Yes. 2 Q. What was that? 3 A. Well, from -- yes, for me, he was the -- he was the man 4 who had all of the command over all of the police, all of the 5 guard, all of them, he had a lot of command. 6 Q. Who was the minister of defense? 7 A. The truth is I don't remember that. 8 MR. FARGARSON: Okay. I believe that may be 9 all, Ms. Chavez. Hold on. 10 Your Honor, I believe that's all, thank you. 11 THE COURT: Redirect? 12 MR. EISENBRANDT: No redirect, Your Honor. 13 THE COURT: Thank you very much. 14 (Witness excused.) 15 THE COURT: You may call your next witness. 16 MR. ESQUIVEL: Your Honor, we call the 17 plaintiff, Daniel Alvarado. 18 THE CLERK: Sir, if you will raise your right 19 hand to be sworn. Do you solemnly swear the testimony you 20 are about to give the court and jury in this matter to be 21 the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so 22 help you God? 23 THE WITNESS: I swear. 24 THE COURT: You may take the witness stand. 25 DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 773 1 (Miguel Angel Urrutia previously sworn to 2 interpret English into Spanish and Spanish into English.) 3 DANIEL ALVARADO, 4 was thereupon called as a witness on behalf of the 5 Plaintiffs, and having been first duly sworn, was 6 examined and testified as follows: 7 DIRECT EXAMINATION 8 BY MR. ESQUIVEL: 9 Q. Good morning, Mr. Alvarado. 10 A. Good morning. 11 Q. Mr. Alvarado, where do you live? 12 A. In Sweden. 13 Q. How old are you, sir? 14 A. Forty-six years of age. 15 Q. Are you married? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. How long have you been married? 18 A. Oh, I have lived with my wife 23, 24 years, but we have 19 been married since 1998. 20 Q. Do you have children? 21 A. I have three children. 22 Q. Boys or girls? 23 A. Two males, one female. 24 Q. How old are they? 25 A. The girl is 14 and the boys are 16 and 22. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 774 1 Q. Do they all live at home? 2 A. They all live at home. 3 Q. Where do you work, Mr. Alvarado? 4 A. At the time I am unemployed, but upon my return to 5 Sweden, I will have a job awaiting me. I still don't know 6 anything about the job itself, but I will have a job. 7 Q. And what did you do before you became unemployed? 8 A. I worked at a company as a process operator. 9 Q. And what happened to your job? 10 A. The company had a large contract with another company 11 here in the United States, but that contract was suspended so 12 that they did not need so many employees when that contract 13 was terminated. 14 Q. Mr. Alvarado, why do you live in Sweden? 15 A. Because of the problems I had with the treasury police. 16 Q. And when did you move to Sweden? 17 A. I arrived in Sweden on April the 4th, 1986. 18 Q. Have you lived in Sweden continuously since that time? 19 A. All the time. 20 Q. Where were you born, Mr. Alvarado? 21 A. In San Salvador. 22 Q. Is that where you grew up? 23 A. I grew up in San Marcos, which is five kilometers from 24 the center of San Salvador. 25 Q. And did you live in San Salvador until you moved to DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 775 1 Sweden? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. Tell the jury about your family growing up as a child. 4 A. We were a family composed of four brothers and my 5 parents. I was the eldest of my brothers, and we were two 6 males and two females. 7 Q. What did your father do? 8 A. My father worked for a company as section chief, and it 9 was for 24 years. I believe after that, he worked at a taxi 10 cab cooperative union, and later on, he became the chairman of 11 that cooperative, but later on the title was changed from 12 president to manager, and he was retired as manager. 13 Q. And what did your mother do? 14 A. She was a -- my mother was a housewife. 15 Q. Did you attend school? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. What schools did you go to? 18 A. Well, I -- well, I studied until first year in control 19 engineering, that was university school. 20 Q. Where did you attend high school? 21 A. I studied at the Externado in San Jose. 22 Q. Is that the same school that has been mentioned before 23 in this trial in connection with the leaders of the FDR? 24 A. Exactly. 25 Q. Were you -- did you attend school during the time that DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 776 1 the leaders of the FDR were taken from the school? 2 A. No, I graduated in '78. 3 Q. In 1978, you graduated from high school? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. And what did you do after you graduated from high 6 school? 7 A. Well, I started studying at Central America 8 Technological Institute known as ITCA in 1980. 9 Q. What subjects did you study there? 10 A. I was studying technology and control engineering. 11 Q. Did you graduate from the ITCA? 12 A. No. 13 Q. Why not? 14 A. I was unable to complete my studies, it was a 15 complicated year for -- well, not only for -- well, for all 16 the people in general, but teachers and students, we did not 17 have a good time that year. Throughout the year, we might 18 find the army or perhaps the police at the doors of the school 19 or the college, and they would obviously be searching the 20 students. And particularly women would have a worse time even 21 because the policemen or the soldiers would take advantage of 22 the opportunity to feel them up. And when we had the least 23 trouble, it was that they would just beat on some of the 24 students. 25 Q. Did you personally witness any times when members of DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 777 1 the military would beat or otherwise be violent with students? 2 A. No, but some of my classmates had seen this. 3 Q. And did this interfere with your ability to finish your 4 degree? 5 A. Well, yes, it did, but -- well, the thing is that 6 because of all these things, all these things went on, there 7 was one thing that actually topped it off, and it was that 8 they fired against a vehicle belonging to the school, and one 9 of our classmates received a bullet in the backbone, spinal 10 column, and he was never able to walk again. Well, the thing 11 is that this cause us to react, and as students we got 12 organized and we founded the students council of the 13 institute, and well, we started saying that they should leave 14 us in peace to study, and at the same time, the government 15 that year, you see the budget of the education ministry had 16 been reduced in order to use those monies for military 17 affairs, and we demanded that the machinery and the material 18 for us to study, and we wanted it all to be repaired and for 19 them to purchase more materials. 20 Q. Mr. Alvarado, when did you found that student council? 21 A. Approximately at the end of -- well, September, October 22 of 1980. 23 Q. And what role did you have in forming that group? 24 A. Well, I was part of the negotiating party between the 25 school and the students, and I participated in those things by DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 778 1 name. Specifically, the names were left written as part of 2 the negotiation. And a few days after that -- well, you see, 3 one of the colleagues, a female colleague was part of the 4 negotiating group was assassinated. She was captured by men 5 in civilian clothes, and she turned up the next day dead, her 6 corpse turned up with signs of torture, and this caused me to 7 be afraid of going back to school. 8 Q. What kind of things did the student council do? 9 A. At that time, it was just indications, things that we 10 needed, school authorities to actually comply with. And 11 mainly what we demanded was our safety while we were in 12 school. 13 Q. How did you do that, what did you do to demand your 14 safety? 15 A. We negotiated a lot, we held many discussions between 16 them and us so as to see in which manner we could solve this 17 jointly. 18 Q. And what was your own personal role in the student 19 council? 20 A. When that female colleague of ours was assassinated, it 21 was my time to replace her. 22 Q. Well, how did you feel about replacing your colleague 23 who had just been killed? 24 A. Very afraid, but still there was a job to be done. 25 Q. And why is it that you volunteered to do that job? DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 779 1 A. Well, in a way, I felt morally compelled to do so 2 because -- well, somebody had to do something, we could not 3 continue to allow things to happen without our -- without our 4 saying nothing, we had to say something. 5 Q. And when you refer to the things that were happening, 6 what is it that you're referring to? 7 A. Well, as I said earlier, searches upon entering the 8 school and searches on the school and students being beaten, 9 well, as I said before, their shooting on students, that was 10 the last thing, it was the most serious thing. But many 11 things were going on, students were tortured and captured 12 continuously over that year. 13 Q. And what was your understanding as to why that was 14 happening? 15 A. Well, young people were continuously seen as -- well, 16 as possible guerillas all the time, and so that is why they 17 captured them and, well, sometimes they killed them without 18 even asking or finding out whether they had some real link to 19 the guerillas. And sometimes even us, we just had a students 20 council, and just because of our own work, just because what 21 we were doing, we were seen as guerillas without having any 22 real links to the guerillas. 23 Q. And you mentioned the term guerillas a couple of times, 24 what were the guerillas? 25 A. In El Salvador, there was an armed movement at that DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 780 1 time which was fighting the regime at that time. 2 Q. Was your student council part of the armed movement? 3 A. No. We were fighting rather for the needs that we had 4 in the school. We did not have any other demands than those. 5 Q. Aside from the student council, did you belong to any 6 other groups? 7 A. As university student, I was also part of AGEUS, the 8 General Organization of University Students of El Salvador. 9 Q. Now, the jury has already heard a little about AGEUS, 10 but could you tell us generally what AGEUS did? 11 A. Yes, it was -- well, in general, it was a students 12 association which also had -- well, they carried on a struggle 13 for students' rights. Yes, because of the problem of the war 14 and the political problems in El Salvador, we had some other 15 problems, other things to do upon us. We generally had dead 16 people, we had prisoners, we had students who were in jail, so 17 this was one of the things that we needed to demand, freedom 18 for our classmates. 19 Q. And how did AGEUS go about doing that? 20 A. In many diverse matters, sometimes it was just 21 distributing flyers in which we included some communicade, 22 depending on the moment, let's say. Sometimes we also paid 23 for space on newspapers demanding freedom for our classmates. 24 And some of the times, we held small rallies or demonstrations 25 demanding, well, depending on what was going on. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 781 1 Q. And what was your role in the AGEUS group? 2 A. Well, there were always diversitive things to be done, 3 but, basically, I dealt with recruiting for the membership of 4 AGEUS and some type of propaganda work. 5 Q. When you say propaganda work, what do you mean? 6 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter would like to 7 request of the witness as to one term. 8 THE COURT: Certainly. 9 (The interpreter conferred with the witness.) 10 A. Usually it would be the distribution of flyers and 11 perhaps a banner of some sort, so diverse forms of propaganda. 12 BY MR. ESQUIVEL: 13 Q. And Give me an example of what one of those flyers 14 would say. 15 A. Very well. Let's say that a classmate had been 16 captured, we would issue a communicade demanding their 17 freedom. 18 Q. Now, aside from the student council and AGEUS, did you 19 belong to or participate in any other groups during that time? 20 A. No. 21 Q. And was AGEUS part of any sort of larger organization? 22 A. AGEUS was a member of the revolutionary popular block, 23 bloque popular revolucionario. 24 Q. And what was that organization? 25 A. It was a group belonging to -- rather, it was a group DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 782 1 formed by different sectors of society which were all seeking 2 their own vindications or rights. We had FECAS, UTC, and 3 Father Rutilio Grande had a lot of work closely with them and 4 he was killed because of that too. 5 Q. Now, you mentioned FECAS and UTC, are those also groups 6 that formed part of this organization? 7 A. Yes. Also, ANDES June 21st de Junio was part of the 8 block, yes. 9 Q. And you mentioned in particular Father Rutilio Grande, 10 who was Rutilio Grande? 11 A. Father Rutilio Grande was a Jesuit priest. He was a 12 great person who had in mind the intent of working for helping 13 the poor people, and -- well, he was killed because of that, 14 because of his help to poor people, and he worked very closely 15 with Monsenor Romero also. 16 Q. Who was the leader of the Popular Revolutionary Block 17 that you mentioned? 18 A. Juan Chacon. 19 Q. What happened to Juan Chacon? 20 A. He was savagely murdered by, pardon me, elements in 21 November of 1980. 22 Q. Do you know whether this group was also part of the 23 FDR? 24 A. He was also part of FDR. 25 Q. And was Juan Chacon one of the leaders of the FDR that DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 783 1 was assassinated in 1980? 2 A. He was also one of the top leaders. 3 Q. Did you ever meet any of the leaders of the FDR? 4 A. No. 5 Q. Now, Mr. Alvarado, when you were in El Salvador, did 6 you ever hear of a group called the FPL? 7 A. Yes, but I did not form part of that group. That was a 8 clandestine group. 9 Q. To your knowledge, what did that group do? 10 A. It was an armed group which fought for installing a 11 democratic government. 12 Q. Now, did you ever fight in an armed opposition to the 13 government in El Salvador? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Were you ever a combatant in a civil war in El 16 Salvador? 17 A. No. 18 Q. Did you ever receive any military training by an armed 19 group? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Did you ever take part in any violence in El Salvador? 22 A. No. 23 Q. Did you ever carry a gun? 24 A. Not either. 25 Q. Now, up this point, Mr. Alvarado, the jury has heard DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 784 1 mostly about the year 1980 in El Salvador. Could you tell the 2 members of the jury how El Salvador was different in 1983 than 3 it was in 1980? 4 A. In 1980, we began having the deepening of the 5 repression. Then in 1983, we had declared war, we had 6 declared war with two very defined groups. 7 Q. Was there a declared war in El Salvador in 1980? 8 A. No, no, there was not. 9 Q. And when you say it was a time of repression, what do 10 you mean by that? 11 A. After the year '30-'32 El Salvador was subjected all 12 the time to a repression. We always had a military 13 dictatorship. But then in the year '80, well, the teachers, 14 the students -- well, in general, the people in general 15 suffered the greatest repression up to that time and, well, 16 there were many dead. And in this -- in that year, 1980, 17 well, you see, among the dead on that year, we also have the 18 leaders of the FDR, the Arch Bishop and all of this -- all of 19 this reaction from the right wing or, should we say, the group 20 in power, the government, it brought on a desperation upon 21 organizations, and then they launched an offensive in 1981. 22 Q. And when you say they launched an offensive, who is 23 they? 24 A. The guerilla, I would mean those who were armed. 25 Q. And so by 1983, were the guerrillas and the army still DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 785 1 fighting? 2 A. Well, by then, they were kind of midway through it 3 because the war had already gone on for 12 years. 4 Q. Mr. Alvarado, in 1983, were you aware whether the 5 United States had sent military advisors to El Salvador? 6 A. Yes, there were advisors, and the newspapers published 7 it, because there was debate at the Senate as to how many to 8 send and whether to send them. There was a demand from the 9 Senate, I believe, as to conditioning military aid to El 10 Salvador. And I was making reference to the United States 11 Senate. 12 Q. And was that debate in the United States Senate 13 something that people in El Salvador were aware of? 14 A. The newspapers would publish some things. 15 Q. Mr. Alvarado, have you ever heard of a U. S. military 16 advisor who is named Lieutenant Commander Albert 17 Schaufelberger? 18 A. Yes, I did receive some help so that I would never in 19 my life forget, and that help I got at the finance police, at 20 the treasury police. 21 Q. And we certainly will be talking about that in your 22 testimony soon. 23 At some point in May of 1983, did you hear about the 24 assassination of Lieutenant Commander Schaufelberger? 25 A. Yes, the newspapers published that in the news. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 786 1 Q. Is that how you found out about it in the newspaper? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. Do you know any of the people who may have been 4 involved in the assassination of Lieutenant Commander 5 Schaufelberger? 6 A. No. 7 Q. Did you have anything to do with the assassination of 8 Lieutenant Commander Schaufelberger? 9 A. No. 10 Q. Do you have any knowledge whatsoever about Lieutenant 11 Commander Schaufelberger's murder? 12 A. No. 13 Q. When you heard news about his assassination, what did 14 you think? 15 A. Well, when I read about it, it was just news, and the 16 only thing that I could think of was that, well, that it was 17 perhaps the guerilla had gotten to do something and, well, 18 that was it, I had no further thoughts on it. 19 Q. Mr. Alvarado, I want to talk to you about what happened 20 on August 25, 1983. Could you please tell the jury what you 21 did that morning. 22 A. The truth is I don't recall very well, but I guess I 23 was at my parents' home, and then I went out in the afternoon. 24 Q. Did you live at home at that time? 25 A. Yes. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 787 1 Q. And what did you do in the afternoon? 2 A. I went to a football field. 3 Q. What were you doing there? 4 A. I was watching a football game. 5 THE INTERPRETER: Meaning soccer. 6 BY MR. EISENBRANDT: 7 Q. By football, do you mean soccer? 8 A. Yes, football. 9 Q. Okay. I think I have got it. And what happened at the 10 soccer game? 11 A. I was sitting there watching the game, and suddenly two 12 men dressed in civilian clothes came up to me, grabbed me and 13 threw me into a car. 14 Q. Did they say why they were doing that? 15 A. No, they just grabbed me and threw me, and they tied me 16 up, they threw me in the floor of the car, and they sat on me. 17 Q. How were they dressed? 18 A. Civilian clothes. But when inside, they identified 19 themselves as freedom commandos. 20 Q. Did that name mean anything to you, freedom commandos? 21 A. For me, it meant nothing. I thought that it could be 22 death squads, but nothing else. 23 Q. Is that what you thought at the time that they were 24 members of death squads? 25 A. Yes. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 788 1 Q. What made you think that? 2 A. Well, the fact that they were dressed in civilian 3 clothes and they were heavily armed, that was a characteristic 4 of the death squads, being heavily armed and wearing civilian 5 clothes. 6 Q. Were these men that got you at the soccer game, were 7 they heavily armed? 8 A. Well, they were perhaps carrying weapons, but maybe 9 they didn't have them at that moment, because they just 10 grabbed me one from each arm. I was not able to look. 11 Q. Okay. So what happened when they put you in the car? 12 A. They blindfolded me and then they drove around in 13 Salvador. 14 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter would like to 15 correct himself. 16 A. They drove around in San Salvador. And perhaps it was 17 for an hour and a half that we drove around in San Salvador. 18 And surely they did that so that I would not know where they 19 were taking me. 20 Q. Did they say anything to you in the car? 21 A. No, they were just sitting and that they would talk 22 with me later. 23 Q. And where did they take you, Mr. Alvarado? 24 A. At that time, I didn't know where they took me, but -- 25 well, it was to the treasury police. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 789 1 Q. When did you find out that this was the treasury police 2 where you were taken? 3 A. When Mr. Carranza called on a press conference to 4 introduce me. 5 Q. But on the day that you arrived, you had been 6 blindfolded and driven around, is that right? 7 A. That is so. 8 Q. Now, when they took you to the treasury police 9 headquarters, where exactly did they take you? 10 A. Well, I couldn't really tell, but when we came in, we 11 could hear the noises, and it sounded like it was the kitchen 12 because they were making tortillas and they were cooking. 13 Q. Was there anything else that you could tell about where 14 you were or what you were near? 15 A. At that time, I really had no idea except for the fact 16 that I knew that I was near a kitchen. 17 Q. Later, were you able to find out more specifically 18 where you were? 19 A. Yes, during the press conference, I found out. 20 Q. All right. Well, we will talk about that a little bit 21 later. What happened next? 22 A. First, they took off my clothes, and they went through 23 all of my clothes. 24 Q. Now, where you were, were there any other people? 25 A. At that time, I believe another person was there only. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 790 1 Q. Were you still blindfolded? 2 A. All of the time with the blindfold and my hands tied. 3 Q. Could you tell what sort of room you were in or 4 anything about the room where you were? 5 A. It was difficult, I could only see the floor and I 6 could see that it was cement and I could see nothing else. 7 Q. Could you tell whether there was any furniture or 8 equipment or anything else in the room? 9 A. I think that there was no furniture. I think there was 10 nothing in there, I believe. 11 Q. So they came and gave you a new set of clothes, and 12 then what happened? 13 A. They gave me a pair of pants that were too small for 14 me, they were short on me, and I had no socks and no shirt. 15 At first, they talked to me and they told me that I needed to 16 collaborate. And I said, okay, that was no problem, and they 17 started asking me questions as to what people I knew and where 18 there were weapons and that kind of question, about people and 19 weapons. 20 Q. And what did you tell them? 21 A. I told them that I knew nothing. Then they said that 22 since I was not going to collaborate, well, that if I was not 23 going to do it the nice way, I would go the hard way. And 24 then they tied a wire on my toes, wires connected to an 25 electric machine, and they put on me some sort of a mask so DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 791 1 that I could not breathe, and they started torturing me on the 2 floor, and they said that they were going to do the little 3 airplane with a pilot, and then they sat on my back and with a 4 mask, they would pull back. They would pull the mask and my 5 hands backwards while one of them was sitting on me. Among 6 other things, they would kick me with their boots, they would 7 beat on me all over my body, and they would connect a third 8 line to different places around my body besides the two lines 9 that I already had connected on me, they would just touch that 10 on different parts of my body. And they started asking 11 questions about persons and weapons and asking me questions 12 about whether I had killed the American advisor, and I always 13 answered no, because I knew nothing anyway. But then Major 14 Ricardo Pozo came in to talk to me. 15 Q. Now, before we talk about Major Pozo, could you tell 16 how many men were torturing during this time? 17 A. I believe there were four or five or there may have 18 been a sergeant in charge of the group anyway. 19 Q. How did you know that there was a sergeant or someone 20 in charge of the group? 21 A. He was giving the orders. 22 Q. Did they ever explain why it was they were doing this 23 to you? 24 A. No, except that allegedly they knew that I was a 25 guerilla. That's what they said. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 792 1 Q. And what did you say? 2 A. I said no, that I was not a guerilla. 3 Q. Mr. Alvarado, how were you able to endure this torture? 4 A. I did not endure it. Well, you see, the things that -- 5 they were torturing me for awhile, and then at approximately 6 1:00 in the morning, they stopped torturing me, but throughout 7 all the while that I had the electricity attached to me and 8 with this mask and the lack of air, well, you see the lack of 9 air made me pass out from time to time, so I really had no 10 idea of time, I would awake -- I would regain 11 conscientiousness every once in awhile and I had no idea as to 12 how much time had elapsed. And at about 1:00 in the morning, 13 they had stopped torturing me and I gained conscientiousness, 14 and then apparently they wanted to go to my parents' house. 15 Q. They wanted to go to your parents' house? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. Did they go to your parents' house? 18 A. Yes. When they captured me, they asked me where I 19 lived, and I gave them the address to my house. 20 Q. And did you go with them? 21 A. They took me, yes. 22 Q. Well, explain to the jury what happened when they took 23 you to your parents' house? 24 A. Well, they put me in a car and we drove ahead of the 25 car, there was a military truck, and they were wearing combat DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 793 1 uniforms in the military truck, and they had interrupted power 2 in the whole area where my family lived. 3 Q. Now, Mr. Alvarado, you were in a car driving to your 4 parents' house? 5 A. Yes. 6 Q. Who was in the car with you? 7 A. The persons who had captured me. It was a station 8 wagon, and they had placed me in the back part of the station 9 wagon. And they removed my blindfold when we arrived at the 10 house, and that's when I saw the truck. 11 Q. Did the men in the station wagon say anything to you 12 while you were on your way there? 13 A. No, just that they were going to conduct a search, 14 because they were looking for weapons or things, because I was 15 supposed to have weapons, according to them, right. 16 Q. What happened when you got to the house? 17 A. They entered my family's home and they started 18 searching around, and they moved everything around the house. 19 Q. Did they take you inside the house? 20 A. No, my family did not know that I was outside. 21 Q. Were you able to see your parents or anyone in your 22 family from the station wagon? 23 A. No. 24 Q. Did the men who searched the house find anything? 25 A. No. Well, they found two weapons, one belonging to my DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 794 1 father and the other one to my brother. My father was a 2 member of the council -- well, the muncipal council, the 3 mayor's office of San Marcos, and he had a gun-bearing permit, 4 and my brother worked for the mayor's office, and he also had 5 a permit to bear arms. 6 Q. Did the men who searched the house say anything to you 7 when they got back in the station wagon? 8 A. Yes, they were angry because they had found nothing. 9 Q. And did they say anything else? 10 A. No. They just took me back. 11 Q. Where did they take you back to? 12 A. To the same place. Again, they blindfolded me again 13 when they thought appropriate -- well, when we were leaving. 14 Q. And what happened when you got back? 15 A. No, that day -- well, at that time, nothing else 16 happened. Rather, at noon, I think it was that they drove me 17 around San Salvador, because they said that they had to 18 deliver some people, and if I was to see somebody on the 19 street, I had to tell them who they were, members of the 20 guerillas. 21 Q. So did they take your blindfold off for this? 22 A. Yes, but they would take me out with the blindfold on, 23 and afterwards, they would take the blindfold off. 24 Q. How long did that take, how long did that go on? 25 A. I don't know, it was just at certain hours that they DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 795 1 had to actually go out. But then at 5:30 or perhaps 6:00 in 2 the afternoon, they started torturing me again. 3 Q. Could you tell whether you were in the same place that 4 you were the first day that you had arrived? 5 A. Yes, it was the same place. 6 Q. Could you tell whether there were any other people that 7 were there in the cell with you? 8 A. There was at least one person or perhaps two there, but 9 I don't really recall properly, but it sounded like there were 10 two. 11 Q. Were those people also being tortured? 12 A. Well, I was the first one to be tortured in any case, 13 and then they tied me up again, and they tied my hands behind 14 my back, and they hung my hands from the roof and they 15 connected the electricity again. And they also put on me that 16 mask so that I could not breathe. And they continued to ask 17 the same questions they had asked previously. I had to tell 18 them about persons and tell them about weapons and as to 19 whether I had killed that American advisor. This time since I 20 was hanging from the roof, they could not kick me anymore, but 21 they were beating on me with their hands and perhaps with 22 other things. And just as the case with the previous day, I 23 could not say really how long I was hanging there. The same 24 thing happened as the previous day, I don't really know how 25 long I was hanging there. I would pass out and I would awake, DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 796 1 and I could not say the amount of hours or days. And when 2 they took me down, I could not really raise my arms, I could 3 not raise my hands, my arms would simply fall. And this form 4 of torture is the one they called the little plane, but 5 without pilot. 6 Q. And how was it that you were hung from the ceiling, was 7 there a chain or how did they do that? 8 A. I don't know, I was hand tied, and from the hands, they 9 would hang me in such a manner that I felt like my arms were 10 being torn off. And even to this date, my shoulder hurts all 11 the time. 12 Q. What did you tell them when they would ask you these 13 questions about guerillas or about the assassination of the 14 advisor? 15 A. That I knew nothing, truthfully, I knew nothing. 16 Q. Were you given any food or water while you were in this 17 cell? 18 A. On the third day, they gave me a plate with beans and 19 bread, but they were bad already, they had fungus on them, and 20 I did not eat. 21 Q. And what -- when you weren't being tortured, where were 22 you and what was happening? 23 A. Right there, I was strewn on the floor all the time. 24 The following day, perhaps 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning, they 25 started torturing me. On this occasion, they tied me by the DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 797 1 feet and they hung me from the ceiling, and exactly as the 2 previous times always with two toes tied with wires to 3 electricity and with a mask that would not allow me to 4 breathe, and just the same, they beat me on my back and on the 5 chest, and they would swing me, and on one occasion, they hit 6 me with a brick on my back. 7 Q. And did they continue to interrogate you while they did 8 this? 9 A. The questions were coming all the time. After some 10 time, I don't know how long, but they stopped the torture and 11 they actually took me down from the ceiling, and they stood me 12 and I -- when they stood me, I could not stand, I fell. I 13 could not walk, I could not stand. 14 Q. When they hung you by your feet, did they have a name 15 for that torture? 16 A. No, no, I do not recall that they mentioned any name 17 for that. 18 Q. Now, earlier, Mr. Alvarado, you mentioned that a Major 19 Ricardo Pozo came to your cell, could you tell the jury about 20 the first time that you saw Major Pozo? 21 A. It was on the first day, he came and he told me that I 22 had to cooperate, I had to help him and that I had to accept 23 that I had killed the advisor, that the case of the advisor 24 was very interesting to him because there was a reward, and he 25 said if you help me, I will help you later. Later on, I found DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 798 1 out that there was a reward of 15 million dollars for 2 capturing the assassin. 3 Q. Was Major Pozo there during the time that you were 4 tortured, one of the times that you were tortured? 5 A. No, but when he finished talking to me, since I said 6 that I knew nothing, he said, well, continue with him, and he 7 left. 8 Q. Who did he say that to? 9 A. He told that to the men who were there with him. He 10 was dressed in civilian clothes at that time. And I did not 11 know that he was Major Ricardo Pozo, but I did believe that he 12 was an officer with the higher rank than the others. 13 Q. Why did you believe that at the time? 14 A. And because the other men who were there were obeying 15 his orders, and also when he was not there, but I could see 16 that he was dressed in finer clothes as the other men, as the 17 torturers. 18 Q. Did you later find out his identity, that he was 19 Ricardo Pozo? 20 A. Yes. 21 Q. And how did that happen? 22 A. Yes, it happened a long time later. You see, when -- 23 later on, they transferred me to the common cells where they 24 held the prisoners of the police, that's what I found out. 25 Q. And how did you find out? DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 799 1 A. Well, we were in the cell, and in the next cell, they 2 had some policemen who were punished for -- well, for 3 something, for anything, I don't know why they were punished, 4 they were there and they were talking amongst themselves and, 5 well, we were able to hear what they were saying. 6 Q. And is that how you found out this man's identity? 7 A. Yes, they would mention names of a colonel or major 8 or -- well, their chiefs. 9 Q. And what was Major Pozo's role at the treasury police? 10 A. He was chief of section two, and the only chief he had 11 was Colonel Carranza. 12 Q. You said section two, what does section two mean? 13 A. Well, in military terms, I don't know what it means, 14 but for the people, section two would be those in civilian 15 clothes, and those who would persecute people for political 16 reasons. 17 Q. How many times while you were being tortured at the 18 treasury police headquarters did you see Major Pozo? 19 A. Well, I would not be able to tell. He came over 20 several times and -- well, in the end when I could stand it no 21 more, I said that yes that I would sign the paper, and I did 22 sign the paper. 23 Q. And the times that he appeared in the cell where you 24 were being tortured, did he always wear civilian clothes? 25 A. Yes. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 800 1 Q. Did you ever see him with his uniform on? 2 A. Yes, I saw him on one occasion with a uniform. 3 Q. When was it that you saw him with a uniform? 4 A. Well, it must have been on a later occasion, perhaps it 5 was in November, approximately. On that occasion, the 6 minister of defense sent somebody to talk to me, a colonel, I 7 do not recall his name, and he wanted to know what had 8 happened to me. And, well, I told him what had happened to 9 me, and suddenly Ricardo Pozo turned up wearing his uniform 10 and, well -- this person said, well, he's Major Ricardo Pozo, 11 he's giving the orders, and he just smiled a bit, and he said, 12 well, I didn't think this would be so silly, and I wrote to 13 the secretary that he knows the chief of section two, and I 14 wrote down his name. 15 Q. So the colonel who you were talking to, you identified 16 to him Ricardo Pozo as the person responsible for your 17 torture? 18 A. Yes. He was -- as that he was giving the orders as to 19 torturing me. 20 MR. ESQUIVEL: Your Honor, at this point, I 21 would go into another section, should I continue or would 22 you like to take the lunch break? 23 THE COURT: Well, let's go -- until about 15 24 after. 25 MR. ESQUIVEL: All right. Thank you, Your DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 801 1 Honor. 2 THE COURT: Sure. 3 BY MR. ESQUIVEL: 4 Q. Now, you've described, Mr. Alvarado, three instances of 5 torture. After those torture sessions, then what happened? 6 A. Well, after, after that occasion when I said that I 7 would sign, well, they still tortured me a bit, and then they 8 stopped and they threw me on the floor and they left me there 9 on the floor, but I had already said that I was going to sign. 10 Q. And did you at some point sign a piece of paper? 11 A. Yes, but I do not -- I do not recall it. Well, the 12 thing is that on August the 31st, they presented me before the 13 press, and it was the previous day that I had signed the 14 paper. 15 Q. And what did the paper say? 16 A. In the paper, it said that I had assassinated the 17 American advisor, and that I had also participated in the 18 murder of a deputy of Irena. 19 Q. Had you written that statement out yourself? 20 A. No, they had typewritten it, and they had been 21 extracting information from the newspapers because they had 22 the newspapers in hand when they were writing. 23 Q. You said they had the newspapers in their hand? 24 A. Yes, at hand. 25 Q. At hand? DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 802 1 A. At hand. Near them. 2 Q. Were they using the newspapers to write out this 3 confession? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. And then you signed it? 6 A. When it was ready, I just signed it. 7 Q. Why did you sign it, Mr. Alvarado? 8 A. Because I could no longer endure this torture. Yes, 9 among other things -- well, you see, Ricardo Pozo came in and 10 he said that, well, they worked in shifts and that they would 11 continue to torture me until I would accept that, and -- well, 12 and that they were not going to killing me, but that probably 13 the body would not withstand it and that I would simply die, 14 and so certainly after several days of torture, I could no 15 longer endure it and I didn't want any more, and, well, that's 16 why I signed. 17 Q. Did they make any threats against you or anyone in your 18 family? 19 A. At that time, no, but later on, they did make threats 20 against my family. 21 Q. Mr. Alvarado, after you signed this paper, did you 22 also -- did you also do something with a video camera? 23 A. Yes. Later on, they filmed a video with me. They told 24 me what I had to say in that video. It took me approximately 25 three days to do this, and when I did not say the things they DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 803 1 wanted me to say, they would beat me on the head and they 2 would pull on my hair until they forced me to say things in 3 the manner in which they wanted me to. 4 Q. Now, at some point, Mr. Alvarado, after you signed this 5 paper and made the statement on the video, were you taken to a 6 press conference? 7 A. Yes, I was -- I was captured on a Thursday, August the 8 25th, and the following week, on a Thursday, they presented me 9 to this press conference, and then they picked me up in a car, 10 and always inside the finest police, the treasury police, they 11 moved the car just a couple of meters, and they had me with my 12 head down and with a blindfold and handcuffs and they told me 13 before opening the door, they said remember that we already 14 know where your family lives and that you have to say the same 15 thing that the paper says, don't say anything about the 16 torture because we already know where your family lives. Yes. 17 At that point, they removed my blindfold and the handcuffs, 18 and they opened the door and they pushed me out, and the 19 journalists were all there, and I could not see properly 20 because the lights were blinding me, the light was bothering 21 my eyes. And when they pushed me, they pushed me all the way 22 to come in front of the journalists, and the journalists asked 23 me about three questions; and after that they threw me back in 24 the car. 25 Q. Mr. Alvarado, let me go back a little bit, the men who DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 804 1 took you to the press conference, where did they take you 2 from? 3 A. From a room where they had us thrown there. By then, 4 there were four of us there. 5 Q. Was this the cell where you were tortured? 6 A. It was not the same. They had already transferred me. 7 You see, after I said that yes, I would sign that, they took 8 me to a different room. 9 Q. And who were the men that took you from the room and 10 put you in the car? 11 A. They were the same ones that had captured me. 12 Q. Were they still wearing civilian clothes? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. Were they armed? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. And did they -- did they ride in the car with you those 17 few meters to the press conference? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. And when you arrived at the press conference, besides 20 you and the journalists, who else was there? 21 A. There were, I think, three other people with me. They 22 presented us as a guerrilla cell, and they named me as the 23 chief. 24 Q. Had you ever met any of those three people before? 25 A. No. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 805 1 Q. Were there any members of the treasury police at the 2 press conference? 3 A. Yes, Mr. Carranza was there present giving statements. 4 Q. What was Colonel Carranza saying? 5 A. No, I did not hear, because it was just a short while. 6 I really could not say how long, but I was just there so they 7 would ask a couple of questions, and then they took me quickly 8 back to the place. 9 Q. Do you know what position Colonel Carranza held in the 10 treasury police at that time? 11 A. Yes, I knew he was the director of the treasury police. 12 Q. Could you tell -- well, were there any other members of 13 the treasury police who were there? 14 A. Yes, there were several other persons in uniform and 15 officers, I guess. Well, I was not able to see well. 16 Q. Could you tell which of the members of the treasury 17 police were leading the press conference? 18 A. No. 19 Q. What were the questions that the journalists asked you? 20 A. I do not recall properly, but one of the questions was 21 whether I had killed the American advisor, and another 22 question was how come I had not gone back to the hills if I 23 had killed him, why had I stayed in San Salvador. I do not 24 recall any other questions, but there were a few of them in 25 any case. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 806 1 Q. Mr. Alvarado, what did you say in response to those 2 questions? 3 A. Well, they had told me that I had to say that I killed 4 the advisor and -- well, they had told me to say that, and I 5 said that, yes, I had killed him, because of the threat 6 against my family. 7 Q. Now, Mr. Alvarado, it has been suggested at this trial, 8 that you should have said something at the press conference 9 about your torture, did you feel free at the press conference 10 to say that you had been tortured in treasury police 11 headquarters? 12 A. No, I did not feel free to say anything because I was 13 afraid of what might happen to my family. 14 THE COURT: We can take our lunch now, it is 15 probably a good time. We're going to have a long lunch, 16 come back at 2:00, and I think as I understand it, we're 17 making good progress, so we will have a longer lunch 18 period, see you at 2:00. We will stay a little late 19 today, of course, and get as far as we can. 20 Don't talk about the case among yourselves, 21 don't let anyone talk with you. 22 THE CLERK: All rise. This honorable court 23 stands in recess until 2:00 o'clock. 24 (Recess taken at 12:22 until 2:14 p.m.) 25 THE COURT: All right. We're going to change DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 807 1 just a few things. With COGIC coming up, we're going to 2 change a few of the security issues so that everybody will 3 have the benefit of it. We're probably going to start a 4 little earlier. I'm going to ask the panel what they 5 think. It just gets very hard for an hour or two to even 6 move on the streets, as both of you know well, and we 7 might just be better off starting early. I'm going to see 8 what our panel thinks, see if we can't start a little 9 early. 10 (Jury in at 2:15 p.m.) 11 THE COURT: All right. You may be seated. We 12 have been trying to figure out a couple of things. With 13 the Church of God in Christ Convention starting next week, 14 it will be much harder to get around, and we were trying 15 to remember and Joe -- Mr. Warren is trying to check 16 exactly when the traffic problems really start. And 17 because you have so many people who are not as familiar 18 with downtown Memphis, because we have people from all 19 over the country, it tends to get stuck, what I'm going to 20 suggest if you think it is okay, is that let's plan on 21 starting -- at least Monday, let's start really early and 22 see what we need to do. Is there any trouble in coming on 23 in about 8:00, 8:15? That's early. The reason to come on 24 is that if we start later, it won't do you any good 25 because you won't be able -- you will be coming in early DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 808 1 or not getting here, that will be your two choices. Let's 2 try it on Monday, and that way we can get a sense of what 3 we need to do. If you will come on in around 8:00 or a 4 little bit after, we will start in here at 8:30. That is 5 still sort of the same schedule. It gives us a little 6 longer day, and we're going to bring lunch in for you, 7 because with that many people downtown, going out to lunch 8 gets a lot more complicated, and I think we can afford to 9 pay for your lunch for a week, at least, so we will do 10 that. We will get some menus, and probably you will 11 probably want to get out of that room, so we will probably 12 let you -- probably set up lunch upstairs on the 11th 13 floor in the jury assembly room or if worse comes to worse 14 or best comes to best, it depends on how you look at it, 15 in the judge's conference, which is pretty nice, but you 16 probably -- it's a little more formal, we will see how 17 that works out. 18 Also, because of the increased number of people 19 around, the marshals will be a little more attentive so 20 they will know who you are with that many folks around the 21 building. They will probably walk you to your cars in the 22 evening and pick you up as you come in just so we don't 23 have any -- you feel completely comfortable. I mean 24 they're great people coming down here, but there are a lot 25 of folks, and when you put 22,000 people downtown, that's DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 809 1 a lot of people, it's a lot of folks. When you put that 2 many people in a small area, it gets very congested. And 3 we want to give you a special deal so you won't have to go 4 out and fight the crowd to try to eat. One reason we're 5 asking you to come in early, frankly, is you won't be able 6 to get a parking space in Mud Island parking lot if you 7 don't come in about that time. Mr. Ruby has been telling 8 me that, and I think he's right about that. So we will do 9 what we can to help you out. Hopefully, it works the 10 first day. If it doesn't, we will have to figure out the 11 next plan. 12 All right, I think that should be of some 13 assistance. The lawyers, it will be a little tough on the 14 first day, we will see how it goes, but maybe we can 15 lighten up once we figure out the exact schedule. That 16 should work pretty well. That will give us a nice long 17 day. 18 Okay. I think we have covered that, and I 19 think we're ready to proceed, so counsel. 20 MR. ESQUIVEL: Thank you, Your Honor. 21 BY MR. ESQUIVEL: 22 Q. Mr. Alvarado, before lunch, we were talking about the 23 press conference where you appeared, and you had also 24 mentioned the confession you were forced to sign for the 25 murder of Lieutenant Commander Schaufelberger and the death of DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 810 1 an Irena deputy? 2 A. That is so. 3 Q. Would you please explain to the jury what Irena is? 4 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter consults 5 permission to consult with the witness on the use of an 6 expression. 7 THE COURT: Certainly. 8 (The interpreter conferred with the witness.) 9 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter has consulted 10 and is now clear on the use of the expression. 11 A. Irena is the extreme right wing party, and the most 12 important member of it was Mr. Roberto D'Abuisson. At the 13 treasury police, they always showed great admiration for Mr. 14 D'Abuisson. Roberto D'Abuisson was also one of the leaders of 15 the death squads. 16 BY MR. ESQUIVEL: 17 Q. And who was the Irena deputy that had been killed? 18 A. His name was -- well his surname was Barrios Amaya. 19 Q. Did you know anything about the death of Mr. Barrios 20 Amaya? 21 A. No. 22 Q. Did you have anything to do with his death? 23 A. No. 24 Q. Now, Mr. Alvarado, after the press conference, what 25 happened to you? DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 811 1 A. They took me back to the same room again, and that day 2 nothing happened. The following day, which was Friday in the 3 afternoon, they tortured me again. They once again connected 4 the electricity, and they placed the mask on my head again. 5 They kept on asking me the names of persons or people and 6 where arms or weapons were. But after maybe half an hour, my 7 body didn't -- couldn't stand the torture anymore, and then I 8 begin to have a severe trembling in my body. 9 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter requests 10 permission to consult with the witness on the use of an 11 expression. 12 THE COURT: Certainly. 13 (The interpreter conferred with the witness.) 14 A. So they started to torture again, and then one of them 15 said, well, that's enough, you're going to drive him crazy and 16 they stopped the torture. Immediately after that, they 17 brought me coffee and two pills, kind of like sedatives for 18 the nerves, and that was the last time that they tortured me. 19 Q. Could you tell how many men were involved in that last 20 time you were tortured? 21 A. I think it was five again, but one was the sergeant and 22 the other were the four torturers, but I don't know who they 23 were. 24 Q. Where were you taken after you were tortured that time? 25 A. Well, I was tortured in the very same room. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 812 1 Q. And after you were tortured, where did they take you? 2 A. They left me there, I remained in that room all of the 3 time. 4 Q. When you were in that room, was anyone else with you? 5 A. That day, there was already -- other than the three 6 that have been presented to the press with me, there was an 7 additional person. 8 Q. Did you know who that person was? 9 A. While we were there, I didn't know him, but then later 10 on at the jail, we had a chance to talk. 11 Q. Were any of the other people who were there in that 12 cell with you tortured while you were there? 13 A. No, not at that time. 14 Q. Was there another time where you were in a cell and 15 other people were tortured? 16 A. No, no. At the beginning when they had just taken me 17 during the first three or four days, there was always other 18 people there who were tortured. 19 Q. How did you know there were other people being 20 tortured? 21 A. It's probable that those three people that were -- they 22 were there at the same place at the beginning as of the second 23 or third day, the same three that were presented with me. 24 Q. And then what happened after your last day of torture? 25 A. Well, after that, nothing happened, that was a Friday, DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 813 1 and there was Saturday, Sunday, nothing happened. But then on 2 the Monday, they came and they took all four of us out and 3 they took us to another room where there was nothing in there, 4 but they had brought in a typewriter, a table and there were 5 two persons there who was supposedly military judges. Then I 6 was still blindfolded, and my hands were tied together and the 7 judge asked them to take the blindfold off and to untie my 8 hands, but the men in the civilian clothes who had taken me 9 there, they didn't want to do it. After that, the judge 10 personally untied me, and he began to ask me questions about 11 the case. He asked me a lot of questions, how I had killed 12 him, how the body looked after I was done, you know, details 13 that -- of the case that I didn't know the answer to and, 14 therefore, I felt that I was in great difficulty to answer 15 these questions, I didn't know how it had been written down on 16 the piece of paper. So I was afraid, I was afraid of making a 17 mistake, because since the guys who took me there, they 18 repeated to me, they repeated, they said that I had -- I had 19 to admit to that death, so I told the judge, I said, listen, I 20 told him he had the extrajudicial confession in his hand and 21 all he had to do was transcribe it on his papers, and when he 22 was ready, I would sign it. So then he accepted, and all he 23 did was really he told the secretary to make a remark on the 24 document that this was the result of a request from me. I 25 believe that the judge was very impressed with the way I DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 814 1 looked, but he didn't say anything to me. In addition, it 2 wasn't normal for a judge to come in and take a statement in a 3 clandestine jail. Normally, one was transferred over to the 4 criminal center, and then from the criminal center, the judge 5 would then have one brought in. But it seems someone to have 6 been in a bit of a hurry to get me to sign, to sign my 7 statement admitting the murders. 8 THE INTERPRETER: The assassinations. The 9 interpreter corrects himself. 10 A. And after that, after I signed the statement, nothing 11 happened, I remained in the same room for a few more days, and 12 I was transferred approximately one week later to the cells 13 where the treasury police would admit that they had captured 14 you. 15 Q. Mr. Alvarado, let me take you back to the room where 16 you were with the judge. When you were there with the judge, 17 did you say anything about your torture? 18 A. No, they had already warned me that I had nothing to 19 say about the torture, nor say anything other than to admit 20 that I had killed the persons, the people. 21 Q. And who was it that told you that? 22 A. The men in civilian clothes, the torturers. 23 Q. And what did you know about the judge who had come to 24 take your statement? 25 A. At that time, nothing. DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 815 1 Q. Was he a member of the military? 2 A. He was a colonel in the army. 3 Q. Was he wearing a uniform? 4 A. No, he was in civilian clothes. 5 Q. And how were the men dressed who took you to see the 6 judge? 7 A. In civilian clothes as well. 8 Q. Where were they while you were talking to the judge? 9 A. They were right there in front of me. 10 Q. So from there, you were transferred to a different 11 location within the treasury police, is that correct? 12 A. That is correct. 13 Q. At some point while you were in the treasury police, 14 were you ever in prison with somebody named Marta Angelica 15 Martinez? 16 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter requests 17 permission to consult with the witness. 18 THE COURT: Certainly. 19 (The interpreter conferred with the witness.) 20 A. During the first few days, I don't recall that 21 happening, but on the second or third day, I asked them to 22 take me to bathroom and they did. And when we got there, 23 there were all these people lying around on the floor, and 24 that woman was there lying on the floor blindfolded. 25 Q. All of the people were lying on the floor in the DIRECT - DANIEL ALVARADO 816 1 bathroom or on the way to the bathroom? 2 A. No, in the bathroom, within the bathroom area. 3 Q. About how many people were in that room? 4 A. I really wouldn't know to tell you, it could have been 5 between 10, maybe 20, I don't know. 6 Q. And who was Marta Angelica Martinez, did you know her? 7 A. No, only by sight, but I knew that she was a professor, 8 a member of ANDES June 21 who had been disappeared -- who had 9 disappeared, disappeared for several months. 10 Q. And how had you known her? 11 A. At some teachers' professors' conference of some sort 12 that I must have attended or that I attended. Once I must 13 have been close, I think, and then I saw her there one time. 14 Q. And did you see her there in the bathroom? 15 A. That i