José Guillermo García Merino (born 25 June 1933)[1] is a former general of the military of El Salvador and was minister of defense of the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador between the years 1979 and 1983.[2]
José Guillermo García | |
|---|---|
| Minister of National Defense of El Salvador | |
| In office 15 October 1979 – April 1983 | |
| President | Revolutionary Government Junta (until 1982) Álvaro Magaña (from 1982) |
| Preceded by | Federico Castillo Yanes |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova |
| Personal details | |
| Born | José Guillermo García Merino 25 June 1933 San Vicente, El Salvador |
| Occupation | Military officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  El Salvador |
| Branch/service |  Salvadoran Army |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état Salvadoran Civil War |
Emigration to United States
editHe emigrated to the United States in 1989, where he lived until January 2016 until he was deported to El Salvador.
Lawsuit cases
editHe was sued, along with Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, in the United States district court in West Palm Beach[3] in two precedent-setting legal actions:
- Ford v. Garcia, a lawsuit by the families of four Catholic churchwomen, including two Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, who were murdered by a Salvadoran military death squad on 2 December 1980. García's defense won the case, and the families appealed. Their appeal was denied, and in 2003, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear further proceedings.
- Ramagoza v. Garcia, a lawsuit filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability on behalf of survivors of torture during the Salvadoran Civil War. García lost, and a judgment of over $54 million (U.S.) was entered against him and his co-defendant, and upheld on appeal.[4][5]
Deportation to El Salvador
editGuillermo García and General Vides Casanova had been undergoing a deportation process since 1999.[6] The Department of Homeland Security later charged García in 2009 with participating or assisting in torture and extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Minister of Defense.[6] His attorney Alina Cruz argued that he could not be deported on those grounds because he was already exonerated of those charges in the landmark case Ford vs. Garcia when a jury found that he was not in control of his troops. It was determined in 1998 that García's co-defendant General Vides Casanova and Casanova's cousin Col. Oscar Edgardo Casanova Vejar, the local military commander in Zacatecoluca, had planned and orchestrated the executions of the four North American churchwomen.[7]
On 12 April 2014, an immigration court judge ruled against García and called for his deportation.[8] On 16 December 2015, it was announced that an immigration appeals court upheld the decision to deport Garcia.[9] Garcia's attorney afterwards said they both plan to appeal the decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.[2]
On 8 January 2016, American immigration officials deported General García back to El Salvador.[10][11]
On 3 June 2025, Garcia was convicted by a jury in Chalatenango for the Santa Rita massacre in 1982 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Subject: José Guillermo García Merino" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1 2 "Former Salvadoran defense minister's deportation upheld". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2015-12-26.
- ↑ Washington Post 17 August 2003 The Case Against the Generals
- ↑ Gonzales, David (24 July 2002). "Torture Victims in El Salvador Are Awarded $54 Million". New York Times (24 July 2002).
- ↑ "El Salvador Generals Guilty of Torture". BBC News. 2002-07-23. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- 1 2 "U.S. Court: Removal of General Garcia – CJA".
- ↑ Larry Rother (3 April 1998). "4 Salvadorans Say They Killed U.S. Nuns on Orders of Military". New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ↑ Preston, Julia (12 April 2014). "Salvadoran General Accused in Killings Should be Deported, Miami Judge Says". The New York Times.
- ↑ Preston, Julia (17 December 2015). "Deportation of Former Salvadoran Official is Upheld". The New York Times.
- ↑ Preston, Julia (9 January 2016). "Florida: Ex-Leader of Salvadoran Military Deported". The New York Times.
- ↑ "CJA : Former Salvadoran Minister of Defense General Garcia Removed from the United States". Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
- ↑ "Salvadoran court convicts 3 former army officers in the 1982 killing of 4 Dutch journalists". AP News. 4 June 2025.