US Deports General Accused of War Crimes

The United States has deported a former high-ranking official in the Salvadoran government who was accused of war crimes.

The New York Times reports that Gen. Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova was deported under a law passed in 2004. The purpose of that law was to prevent people accused of war crimes and other crimes against humanity from avoiding prosecution for their crimes by living in the United States.

Casanova served as El Salvador's defense minister during that country's civil war in the 1980s. Rights groups have accused Casanova of complicity in the murder of four American nuns during the war. Casanova was not deported for that alleged offense. He was deported because the court ruled that he was responsible for the torture and deaths of other civilians as defense minister because he led the troops responsible for those crimes.

Although he has been deported, it is uncertain if Casanova will face trial in El Salvador. In 1993, the country passed an amnesty law that applied to both the military and rebels groups in a bid to end the war and begin some sort of national reconciliation. At the same time, David Morales, who is in charge of investigating human rights abuses in El Salvador, said that some of the crimes Casanova is accused of are not covered by the amnesty.

The country's Supreme Court is currently hearing cases that could lead to the amnesty being revoked.

Casanova first came to the United States in 1989, when the US government viewed him as an ally in the fight against Communism, and has been the country ever since. The Times notes that the United States agitated for Casanova's promotion to defense minister despite the fact that it was confirmed soldiers under his command were responsible for the nuns' deaths.