Background

Archbishop Oscar Romero was a momentous figure in the struggle for human rights during an intensifying anti-insurgency campaign in El Salvador in the late 1970’s.The Archbishop became the leading voice for victims of government repression and for the poor through his weekly radio homilies, broadcast throughout the country, which captivated Salvadoran audiences and called for an end to military repression.

As Romero biographer Margaret Swedish remarked, “This was a remarkable thing for the poor of El Salvador -- to hear someone pronounce their reality, to name the causes of their suffering, to denounce the injustice, to speak to their hopes and help them believe that it was right and good to believe that these hopes should be realized in this world.”

Romero regularly denounced human rights abuses being committed by the Salvadoran armed forces and “death squads” and was viewed by the Salvadoran far right as a threat to its political agenda.

On the eve of his assassination, Romero addressed his homily to government soldiers and pleaded: “In the name of God, in the name of these suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: Stop the repression.”

Romero was fatally shot the next day, March 24, 1980, by a single sniper’s bullet while performing mass in the Chapel of Divine Providence in El Salvador’s capital San Salvador. Romero has since become perhaps the most recognizable figure in the struggle of poor Latin Americans for human rights and dignity, and has been nominated for recognition by the Vatican as a saint. The move reportedly is supported by Pope John Paul II.

Doe v. Saravia
In September 2003, CJA filled a lawsuit against Alvaro Rafael Saravia, who was living in Modesto CA, alleging that he played a key role in organizing the assassination of Archbishop Romero. The suit was filed on behalf of a plaintiff whose name has been withheld for security reasons.

The complaint alleges that Saravia obtained weapons, vehicles and other materials for purposes of carrying out the assassination, provided his personal driver to transport the assassin to and from the chapel where Romero was shot, and paid the assassin after the assassination had been carried out. Saravia later reportedly advised reputed death squad leader Roberto D’Aubuisson – with whom he worked closely – that the “plan” to carry out the assassination had been successfully completed.

The U.N. Commission on the Truth for El Salvador and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights both concluded after separate investigations that Saravia was actively involved in planning and carrying out the assassination. However, to date, no person -- in El Salvador or elsewhere -- has been held responsible, criminally or civilly, for the Archbishop’s assassination.
Saravia has lived in the United States since at least 1987 when he was jailed for 14 months on immigration charges. Saravia’s arrest came on the heels of a request by Salvadoran prosecutors for Saravia’s extradition for his role in the Romero assassination. The Salvadoran Supreme Court later withdrew the extradition request in a decision denounced as dubious and politically motivated by the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and many other human rights organizations. Saravia was released from federal prison on bond in 1988 following the Salvadoran Court’s decision and has since lived in California and Florida. Amnesty International and other groups have denounced Saravia’s presence here.

August 24th to the 27th, CJA participated in a damages hearing in the case against Saravia. During the hearing CJA presented evidence against Saravia as one of the conspirators in the assassination of Archbishop Romero. We put on testimony from several Salvadorans as well as American experts who talked about the assassination as well as the impact of his death.

On September 3, 2004 Judge Wanger issued a historic decision holding Alvaro Saravia responsible for his role in the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Judge Wanger ordered Saravia to pay $10 million to the plaintiff, a relative of the Archbishop, who has still not been identified for security reasons.

Until this ruling, no single individual had been held responsible for the assassination, one of the most heinous and shocking murders of the last part of the 20th century.

In announcing the monetary award, Judge Wanger stated that "the damages are of a magnitude that is hardly describable."

Judge Wanger ruled that the evidence clearly established Saravia’s responsibility for organizing the murder. He also determined that the murder constitutes a crime against humanity, because it was part of a widespread and systematic attack intended to terrorize a civilian population. As Judge Wanger stated:

"Here the evidence shows that there was a consistent and unabating regime that was in control of El Salvador, and that this regime essentially functioned as a militarily-controlled government." The government perpetrated "systematic violations of human rights for the purpose of perpetuating the oligarchy and the military government."

He also concluded that what happened in El Salvador was the "antithesis of due process" and that there could not be a better example of extrajudicial killing than the killing of Archbishop Romero.

Judge Wanger’s ruling is one of the few in the United States finding an individual liable for crimes against humanity. Such crimes were first defined and condemned in 1945 in the Nuremberg Charter, established to try Nazi war criminals. The novelty of crimes against humanity is that they can be committed by a government against its own citizens. In contrast, genocide is widespread persecution directed against a distinct people, defined by race, ethnicity, or religion.

The trial team included Litigation Director, Matthew Eisenbrandt, International Attorney, Almudena Bernabeu, Carolyn Patty Blum and Nico van Aelstyn and Russ Cohen from Heller Ehrman, LLP who offered their services pro bono.