AP Features, February 20th, 2007
President Tony Saca on Tuesday condemned the grisly killings in Guatemala of three Salvadoran members of the Central American Parliament, including the son of the alleged mastermind of El Salvador's 1980's death squads.
Police discovered the lawmakers' charred bodies Monday on a rural road near El Jocotillo, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of the Guatemalan capital, after they failed to show up as expected at their hotel. It was not clear if the killings were politically motivated, although Guatemalan President Oscar Berger said that was being investigated.
"It was not by chance," he said. "We have various theories, and we are not ruling out the possibility that it was a political crime."
The dead legislators were identified as William Pichinte, Ramon Gonzalez and Eduardo D'Aubuisson, the 32-year-old son of the founder of El Salvador's ruling party. All three represented El Salvador at the Central American Parliament, based in Gautemala's capital of Guatemala City. Their driver, who was not identified, was also killed.
An autopsy confirmed that two of the three legislators had been shot in the head.
"D'Aubuisson and Pichinte had bullet wounds to the skull, one each," medical examiner Mario Guerra said. The injuries to the other two victims "could not be determined, because they were so badly burned."
The killings took place on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the death of Roberto D'Aubuisson, the charismatic leader of the Salvadoran right whom human rights groups accused of helping form death squads responsible for the kidnap, torture and murder of tens of thousands of civilians during El Salvador's civil war. He died of throat cancer at age 48 on Feb. 20, 1992.
Speaking at the elder D'Aubuisson's grave at a prescheduled event commemorating his death, Saca called the killings in Guatemala premeditated but declined to speculate on who might be responsible.
"They burned their bodies several times, they killed them, they riddled their bodies with bullets, they made them suffer in a cowardly manner," Saca said later at a news conference. "This was directed by someone who wants to send a message, and if the message is to scare Salvadorans who love liberty, then that person is wrong."
On Tuesday, El Salvador's congress decreed a three-day national mourning period for the victims.
"This act was not a simple crime," congress leader Ruben Orellana said. "It was an attack on the constitutional framework of El Salvador and Central America."
Saca said the representatives' vehicle was traveling with a police escort until it reached Guatemala City early Monday. Highway robberies are common in Guatemala, but officials believed the men would be safe in the capital.
Interior Minister Carlos Vielman said the crime was out of the ordinary, even in a country known for gang beheadings and kidnappings.
"The fury, the violence with which it was carried out sent a message," he said. "The crime scene was hellish. They burned everything until there was no evidence left."
Police said the men were last seen around midday Monday in the city's hotel zone, but it was unclear exactly when they were kidnapped, taken to the spot outside of the city, killed and burned along with their vehicle.
Salvadoran forensic experts and investigators were traveling to Guatemala to help in the case.
The Central American Parliament, which has 132 members representing five nations, was created in 1986 to help integrate Central America politically but does not overrule or replace local legislatures.
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Associated Press writer Juan Carlos Llorca in Guatemala City contributed to this report.
