Ex-Salvadoran Colonel Extradited to Spain for Jesuit Massacre Trial

By Daniel Uria 

UPI -- The United States extradited ex-Salvadoran Col. Inocente Orlando Montano to Spain to stand trial for charges related to the slayings of six Jesuit priests.

Montano, 74, is set to face trial in Spain on Thursday and will be one of the first top-ranking Salvadoran commanders to face criminal prosecution.

He is one of 19 former Salvadoran military officials indicted in Spain for the 1989 deaths of Six Jesuit priests, five of whom were Spanish, as well as their housekeeper, and the housekeeper's 16-year old daughter during the 10-year Salvadoran civil conflict.

"Criminals and those lawfully charged with criminal offenses overseas should not be able to find safe haven in the United States," Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan said. "Today's extradition demonstrates our firm commitment to honoring our obligations under extradition treaties. As a result, an alleged human-rights violator will now face justice in Spain."

The complaint seeking Montano's extradition to Spain alleges he shared oversight responsibility over a government radio station that urged the killings of the priests days before the massacre, while he served as vice minister of Defense and Public Safety.

It also accuses him of participating in a series of meetings during which a fellow Salvadoran army officer gave the order to kill the priests.

Montano, who previously lived in Everett, Mass., was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison in 2013 for immigration fraud and perjury.

And still he was allowed to stay in the country until now??? Shouldn't immigration fraud automatically disqualify you from staying in the country?

His extradition was handled by attorneys from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the District of Massachusetts and the Office of International Affairs.

Wikipedia:

During the Salvadoran Civil War, on 16 November 1989, Salvadoran Army soldiers killed six Jesuits and two others at their residence on the campus of José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA El Salvador) in San Salvador, El Salvador. 

The Jesuits were advocates of a negotiated settlement between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), the guerilla organization that had fought the government for a decade. 

The murders attracted international attention to the Jesuits' efforts and increased international pressure for a cease-fire, representing one of the key turning points that led toward a negotiated settlement to the war.