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June 04, 2025 – El Salvador –
In a landmark ruling, a Salvadoran court on June 3, 2025, convicted three former military officials for orchestrating the 1982 killing of four Dutch journalists during the country’s civil war. The court sentenced Gen. José Guillermo García (91), Col. Francisco Morán (93), and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena (85) to 15 years in prison each. García and Morán, both in fragile health, were present via hospital custody in San Salvador. Reyes Mena, who resides in the United States, was convicted in absentia and faces extradition.
The victims—Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag, and Joop Willemse—were working for the Dutch broadcaster IKON and were covering the leftist FMLN guerrilla movement. On March 17, 1982, they were ambushed and killed by the Salvadoran army in Chalatenango province. A 1993 UN Truth Commission concluded that the attack was a deliberate ambush planned at the highest levels of the military command, particularly by Reyes Mena.
The court’s decision is historically significant, marking the first time civil war-era killings in El Salvador have been classified and punished as crimes against humanity. The trial took place in the town of Dulce Nombre de María before a jury of five women. While prosecutors asked for a 30-year sentence, the judge considered the defendants’ age and health, settling on 15 years.
The jury also issued a formal civil condemnation, ordering President Nayib Bukele to publicly acknowledge the state’s responsibility and issue an apology on behalf of the armed forces. The Dutch government welcomed the verdict. Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp called it a vital act of justice for the victims’ families and a message that accountability can prevail, even after decades.
The case sets a precedent as El Salvador reckons with the legacy of its 12-year civil war, which killed over 75,000 people. Human rights organizations praised the ruling but urged continued efforts to hold perpetrators of other wartime atrocities accountable, including those responsible for the El Mozote massacre and other unresolved crimes.
Reference –
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/04/el-salvador-dutch-reporters-sentencing
