DOCSLIB.ORG

Nicaragua 2009 Newsletter 3

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nicaragua 2009 Newsletter 3 Xavier University Academic Service Learning Semester Nicaragua 2009 El Encaminador March 29. 2009 Our journey here to this foreign land of Nicaragua has taken us to quite a variety of places. However, included in that list, is a venture to another country as well. By means of an eleven hour bus ride through the cities and countryside of Nicaragua and Honduras, we finally arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador. We were greeted by a sea of red-shirt wearing FMLN (the leftist party running for the presidential election on March 15th) supporters, neoliberal evidence on every street corner and an overall different attitude from that which we have witnessed here in Nicaragua. Throughout our week in El Salvador we were lucky enough to have two guides. Our primary guide for our week Back: Michael Delaney, Anna Russell, Paul Madden, was a wonderful Salvadoran woman named Rosa. She comes Josie Watson, Molly Rehak, Mary Knauff from a family rooted in standing up for those who have their Front: Michael Jonagan, Mary Renda, Jena Galster human rights taken away from them. Rosa, an avid FMLN Not pictured: Erika Vickers supporter, was extremely joyous and hopeful through the entire week and allowed us to experience that spirit of the On our last day, we had the op- election in a full and personal way. Our second guide for our portunity to hear the amazing story of a time was Chris Ortman, an ASLS Nicaragua alum. man, Dani, and about his experiences as While we were there we lived in a kindergarten a gang member. We heard of his time in complex for the week. Our time during the day was spent jail, as well as the work he is currently visiting the historical and cultural sites associated with doing in an attempt to work with people Romero, the Jesuits at the UCA and the demonstrations for in the prison system. We heard and saw peace in the country. It was apparent throughout our time later through Rosa´s tears, about the that Oscar Romero still plays an important role in the daily amazing, peaceful movement that the lives of the people of El Salvador. Mauricio Funes, the prisoners had just completed. Rather current president-elect (thanks to the FMLN win on March than acting with violence as people ex- 15th) refers to Romero as his role model. The Romero shirts, pected them to, amazingly a group of 800 banners and statues all spoke to his importance in the lives gang members decided to react to a vio- Issue 3 of the people of El Salvador. lent situation with non-violent means. It would have been impossible to go to El Salvador After a week of learning a new culture, without learning something about the civil war. In going to being further challenged in our world the sites, monuments and hearing stories the war was made views and eating many pupusas (the typi- a little more real for us. But what made it really come cal Salvadoran food), we boarded a bus to together was when we visited El Mozote, the site of a return to our families and eagerly awaited massacre that left only a sole survivor. The reality of the for what we hoped would be a political remaining town was enough to make us realize the horrible victory for the FMLN. Needless to say like things that our U.S. government has participated in. so many other things on our trip, we were Continued not disappointed! ANNOUNCEMENTS - Mark your calendars! May 1st at 4:00 p.m. in Kelley Auditorium– Nicaragua 2009 presentation - For more information on the Academic Service Learning Semesters please contact Dr. Irene B. Hodgson at [email protected] or call 513-745 -3541 Page 2 Mi familia nicaragűense: The Castillo Family El Encaminador Jena Galster Linet and I always joke about me (21). She also has four grandchildren babysitting for her in exchange for who keep her busy: Nevil (11), Alicia The rooster starts crowing and a day her doing my Spanish homework. I (4), Valeria (11 months), and Iker Abel in the life of the Castillo family be- would love to give you a full profile (2 weeks). There is never a dull mo- gins. My Nicaraguan family consists of of every one of my family members, ment in my house. I love spending my twelve people, including me, who run but I would have to take up the en- time sitting in the rocking chairs in my in and out of the house throughout tire space of this newsletter. One living room while Alicia draws in my the day. Doña Marta is my mother thing that sums them up quite well notebook , Valeria sits on my lap trying and is the chief of the household. As is that they are all wonderful people to grab the glasses off of my face, and you can imagine, caring for the lives who have worked incredibly hard for at the same time I am having a discus- of twelve individuals where the what they have. They have wel- sion with Doña Marta and Raquel about youngest is two-weeks old can be comed me with open arms into their the happenings of my day. Raquel and I quite the task. There is a lot of cook- home as a daughter, a sister, an share a room and have definitely be- ing, cleaning, laundry…etc. She is one aunt, and a friend. I look forward to come like sisters. She is studying anes- of the strongest, most hard-working sharing my life with them as well. women I have ever met. When her thesiology and only has one year left Issue 3 husband Manuel (my Nicaraguan fa- until she completes her degree. At least ther) passed away in February, she one night a week we sit down to help was the glue that held the family to- each other with homework. She helps gether. Her two sons and two daugh- me with my Spanish and I help her with ters also live with her: Linet (30), her English, so it works out pretty well. Manuel (27), Raquel (22), and Ariel Doña Elba Tapia and Don Mario Josie Watson from serious discussions of hand the baby off to me – as CAFTA´s affect on Nicaragua, if no one will notice him shirk- My house is always full of to making fun of me for being ing his grandfatherly duties. people. Out of the front of our a vegetarian and telling me I In addition to oh so many house we run a pulpería (a small have to kill the chicken for that people, we also have a dog, a convenience store) as well as a night´s dinner. puppy, a cat and two kittens, cyber café, and in the back there I also have two sisters, two birds and a chicken are a few bedrooms that we rent a brother, and two nieces. My named Cristina. to travelers. My mother-figure, twelve-year-old niece Hazel With the help of my Doña Elba, is the matriarch of loves to practice her English family, my Spanish has cer- the family and certainly has her almost as much as she likes to tainly been improving, but for hands full as there are usually make fun of my Spanish. My those times when verbal com- nearly 15 people staying in our sister Elba´s baby just turned house. a month old and is the most munication fails, we resort to My father-figure, Don beautiful baby girl I have ever a strange game of charades Mario, can almost always be seen. If I ever walk into the and facial expressions. found at work in the kitchen room, and Don Mario is hold- Spending time talking and making pizza which we also sell ing her, he will glance around laughing with my family has out of the pulpería. My conver- the room (as if to make sure certainly been my favorite sations with Don Mario are al- none of the women are watch- piece of my time here. ways a surprise. They range ing him) and then sneakily Page 3 Living the Gospels: Christian Base Community in El Salvador Anna Russell the women maintain an organic farm which supplies “We are building the earth the way that God in- the nutrition centers with all their food and a guest structed us to build it by caring for the most vulnerable house for delegations, such as ours, to stay in. While and the poorest,” Doña Anita told me one morning at staying in the guest house, we had the opportunity to breakfast, “We are trying to live as Christians, following in engage in theological and personal discussions with the example of Jesus.” Doña Anita is a member of a some of the women, learning how they had the en- Christian base community in the urban community of San ergy to run such a huge project without government Ramón in El Salvador. Drawing on inspiration from the support. When I asked another woman if she ever gospels, Anita and her friends practice a theology of lib- got tired working so hard, she responded, “When I eration which tries to free the people from poverty and get tired I just rely on God. And then I´m not so oppression. Anita told us that many Christians “only think tired.” Jon Sobrino, a prominent Jesuit priest, wrote about the God in the clouds without thinking about the that the Salvadoran people were being actively cruci- people of God all around them.” With determination and fied and believed in a God of life who wanted to free passion, Anita and her friends take their faith to the them from their suffering.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Political Influence of the Maras in El Salvador
    Analysis Paper 32/2020 14 October 2020 María Luisa Pastor Gómez The political influence of the maras Visitar la WEB Recibir BOLETÍN ELECTRÓNICO in El Salvador The political influence of the maras in El Salvador Abstract: The Salvadoran gangs and in particular the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) have been acquiring more and more power within the country, until they have become a real political power. A power with wich all parties have negotiated covertly, either to reduce the high levels of violence in the country or just for electoral purposes, as it has been report by the newspaper ‘El Faro’. The content of the report has been denied by the government but is being investigated by the Attorney General's Office. Keywords: Street gangs, MS13, Bukele, El Salvador, dialogue How to cite this document: PASTOR GÓMEZ, María Luisa. The political influence of the maras in El Salvador. IEEE Analysis Paper 32/2020. http://www.ieee.es/Galerias/fichero/docs_analisis/2020/DIEEEA32_2020LUIPAS_maras Salvador-ENG.pdf and/or bie3 link (accessed day/month/year) *NOTE: The ideas contained in the Analysis Papers are the responsibility of their authors. They do not necessarily reflect the thinking of the IEEE or the Ministry of Defense. Analysis Paper 32/2020 1 The political influence of the maras in El Salvador María Luisa Pastor Gómez The political influence of the maras in El Salvador Resumen: Las pandillas salvadoreñas y en particular la Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) han ido adquiriendo cada vez más poder en el seno del país, hasta convertirse en un poder de facto con el que los partidos políticos han negociado de manera encubierta, ya sea para reducir los altos niveles de violencia del país o con fines electoralistas.
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador's 2019 Elections
    CRS INSIGHT El Salvador's 2019 Elections February 6, 2019 (IN11034) | Related Author Clare Ribando Seelke | Clare Ribando Seelke, Specialist in Latin American Affairs ([email protected], 7-5229) On February 3, 2019, Nayib Bukele, a 37-year-old former mayor of San Salvador and candidate of the Grand Alliance of National Unity (GANA) party, won El Salvador's presidential election. Bukele garnered 53% of the vote, well ahead of Carlos Calleja, a business executive running for a conservative National Republican Alliance (ARENA)-led coalition, with 31.8%, and Hugo Mártinez, a former foreign minister of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), with 14.4%. Bukele's first-round victory occurred amid relatively low voter turnout (44.7%) during a peaceful electoral process observed by the Organization of American States and others. Bukele is set to succeed Salvador Sánchez Cerén (FMLN) as president on June 1, 2019, and serve a single, five-year term. Bukele's election ends 10 years of FMLN government. Who Is Nayib Bukele? Nayib Bukele served as mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán (2012-2015) and San Salvador (2015-2018) for the FMLN. Prior to entering politics, Bukele worked in family businesses started by his late father, a prominent Salvadoran of Palestinian descent who backed the FMLN financially beginning in the early 1990s. Throughout his political career, Bukele has used social media to connect directly with voters, a new phenomenon in Salvadoran politics. As mayor, he revitalized the historic center of San Salvador and engaged at-risk youth in violence-prevention programs. In 2017, the FMLN expelled him for criticizing the party's leadership.
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S
    El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations Clare Ribando Seelke Specialist in Latin American Affairs January 3, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS21655 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary Throughout the last few decades, the United States has maintained a strong interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country with a population of 7.2 million. During the 1980s, El Salvador was the largest recipient of U.S. aid in Latin America as its government struggled against the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) insurgency during a 12-year civil war. A peace accord negotiated in 1992 brought the war to an end and formally assimilated the FMLN into the political process as a political party. After the peace accords were signed, U.S. involvement shifted toward helping the government rebuild democracy and implement market- friendly economic reforms. Mauricio Funes of the FMLN was inaugurated to a five-year presidential term in June 2009. Funes won a close election in March 2009, marking the first FMLN presidential victory and the first transfer in political power between parties since the end of El Salvador’s civil war. Funes’ victory followed strong showings by the FMLN in the January 2009 municipal and legislative elections, in which the party won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly and the largest share of the municipal vote. President Funes still has relatively high approval ratings (69% in November 2010), but faces a number of political, economic, and social challenges.
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador Una Historia De Afinidad Ideológica No Auditable
    RELACIÓNVENEZUELA POLÍTICO-ECONÓMICA EL SALVADOR VENEZUELA Mecanismos de cooperación Alba y Petrocaribe Una historia de afinidad ideológica no auditable Febrero 2019 RELACIÓN POLÍTICO-ECONÓMICA EL SALVADOR VENEZUELA MECANISMOS DE COOPERACIÓN ALBA Y PETROCARIBE: UN RELATO DE OPACIDAD Y DESCONTROL. Históricamente conflictiva e inestable, la centroamericana república de El Salvador vivió una prolonga- da etapa de autoritarismo militar durante el Siglo XX, que duraría más de medio siglo y vería en sus postrimerías el estallido de un conflicto interno. Las fuerzas armadas salvadoreñas se enfrentaron a la insubordinación de elementos guerrilleros representados por el marxista Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN). Una vez alcanzada la paz gracias a los Acuerdos de Esquipulas propuestos por el Grupo Contadora - del cual Venezuela formó parte -, la pacificación de El Salvador y su frágil democracia vieron sustituida la violencia del conflicto armado por la criminalidad producto de la proliferación de grupos pandilleros, además de la pobreza desatendida1 por la propia democracia. Este pequeño país centroamericano con una amplia población pobre, una historia de continuos gobier- nos conservadores y un grupo guerrillero institucionalizado como partido de izquierda, pronto vio sus relaciones políticas y económicas influidas de forma importante por el establecimiento de una relación cercana y preferencial con la Venezuela bolivariana. EL SALVADOR Idioma oficial Español Fecha de independencia 15 de septiembre de 1821 Establecimiento
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador's New Leftist President Faces Daunting Economic Tasks; No Help Expected from a Battered Right Wing LADB Staff
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository NotiCen Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) 5-28-2009 El Salvador's New Leftist President Faces Daunting Economic Tasks; No Help Expected From A Battered Right Wing LADB Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen Recommended Citation LADB Staff. "El Salvador's New Leftist President Faces Daunting Economic Tasks; No Help Expected From A Battered Right Wing." (2009). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen/9706 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiCen by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LADB Article Id: 050836 ISSN: 1089-1560 El Salvador's New Leftist President Faces Daunting Economic Tasks; No Help Expected From A Battered Right Wing by LADB Staff Category/Department: El Salvador Published: Thursday, May 28, 2009 June 2 marks the spot where the march of history in El Salvador turns left. As it leaves the once- inexorable rightward parade route laid out by the Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA), the country is headed for a good dousing in uncharted waters. El Salvador owes its creditors money, the outlook is for continued economic contraction, and tax receipts are likely to be skimpy until citizens once again have something to pay taxes on. If incoming President Mauricio Funes and his Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FNLN) have anything favorable to look forward to, it is that the opposition is also, for the moment, in a state of diminished capacity.
    [Show full text]
  • Administration of Barack Obama, 2011 Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted
    Administration of Barack Obama, 2011 Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by President Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena of El Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador March 22, 2011 Buenas noches. President Funes, First Lady, former Presidents Cristiani and Saca, distinguished guests, on behalf of Michelle and our daughters, thank you for the wonderful hospitality that's been shown to us here in San Salvador. As many of you know, this has been my first trip through Latin America as President, and this is our final night. We are closer to home. I mean this in more than just a geographical sense. El Salvador is one of those places where the bonds between the United States and Latin America are strongest. Just about every Salvadoran has a loved one or a friend in the United States—husbands and sons, mothers and daughters—working hard, sacrificing every day. They strengthen my country, and they mean so much to El Salvador. They're very much in our thoughts tonight. In my speech in Santiago yesterday, I said that Latin America is not the stereotype of a region in perpetual conflict or trapped in an endless cycle of poverty. I repeat that tonight because many look at a country like El Salvador and only see the struggles. I'm proud to work with President Funes, a courageous leader, to meet those challenges together as partners. But I also want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the side of this nation that is too often overlooked, which is just as real and just as important.
    [Show full text]
  • To the Kind Attention of HE President Mauricio Funes President of the Republic of El Salvador San Salvador, El Salvador
    EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE To the kind attention of President Mr. H.V. Ross Robertson, MP, New Zealand H.E. President Mauricio Funes Board President of the Republic of El Salvador Dip. Margarita Stolbizer, Argentina San Salvador, El Salvador Ms. Irene Torshie Addo, MP, Ghana Via: [email protected], [email protected] Sen. Jim Walsh, Ireland Dr. Mahreen Bhutto, MP, Pakistan Hon. Syed Naveed Qamar, MP, Pakistan Mr. Thilanga Sumathipala, MP, Sri Lanka Bogota, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Paramaribo, Santo Domingo, 2 May 2014 Dr. Ruth Wijdenbosch, MP, Suriname Ms. Marie Nordén, MP, Sweden Dear President Funes, Dr. Yusuf Ziya Irbec, MP, Turkey Mr. Stephen Tashobya, MP, Uganda We are pleased to write to you as members with responsibilities within Parliamentarians for Mr. Mark Pritchard, MP, United Kingdom Global Action (PGA), a global network of more than 1,100 parliamentarians from 140 Dip. Felipe Michelini, Uruguay countries with democratically-elected parliaments around the world who, in our individual Treasurer capacity, promote peace, democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, MP, Sweden Your election to the Presidency in June 2009 produced a favorable change in the foreign INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL policy of El Salvador in relation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the Chair ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC was included in the Government platform. Since Dip. Minou Tavárez Mirabal, Dominican Republic then, many Parliamentarians and government officials from Latin American countries, as Councillors well as countries in other regions of the world, visited El Salvador and engaged with your Mr. Kelvin Thompson, MP, Australia Administration to promote the ratification of the Rome Statute.
    [Show full text]
  • FMLN Reflections, 20 Years Later: an Interview with Nidia Díaz
    CENTRAL AMERICA FMLN Reflections, 20 Years Later: An Interview With Nidia Díaz By ESTHER PORTILLO-GONZALES N January 10, 1981, the FarabuNDO Martí NA- cal freedoms and the right to organize, to participate in tional Liberation Front (FMLN) launched its politics, to have an opinion, and to mobilize without the Ofirst offensive, occupying large sections of El threat of repression. We have more possibilities and ac- Salvador’s departments of Morazán and Chalatenango. cess to further organize politically. The same month, María Marta Valladares, also known as At the end of 1992, the FMLN had the opportunity to Nidia Díaz, became a commander of the guerrilla force. become a political party. We have participated in several During the 12-year civil war, Díaz became internation- elections where we have an intimate relationship with ally known as one of the FMLN’s most exceptional lead- the social sectors because in the 1980s the military factor ers. On April 18, 1985, she was captured, imprisoned, was the common language of the political struggle. That and tortured by the Salvadoran army. Six months later, has changed. Politics is no longer waged through bullets at the peak of the civil war, she was released in exchange but through political, social, and legislative struggle. for President José Napoleón Duarte’s daughter, Inés. At an event early this morning, we paid homage to Díaz continued to be part of the FMLN through Farabundo Martí, who was killed 80 years ago on Feb- January 1992, when she was one of the signers of the ruary 1. They executed him along with [student leaders] Chapultepec Peace Accords, which ended the country’s Alonso Luna and Mario Zapata.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom in the World - El Salvador (2010)
    Page 1 of 5 Print Freedom in the World - El Salvador (2010) Political Rights Score: 2 * Capital: San Salvador Civil Liberties Score: 3 * Status: Free Population: 7,339,000 Overview Mauricio Funes led the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) to a historic victory in El Salvador’s January legislative and March presidential elections, ending two decades of right-wing National Republican Alliance (ARENA) rule. The new administration faced serious challenges during the year, including an economic downturn and an unexpected increase in violent crime. El Salvador gained independence from Spain in 1821 and broke away from a Central American federation in 1841. A republican political system dominated by the landowning elite, and subject to foreign interference, gave way to military rule in the mid-20th century. A 1979–92 civil war pitted the right-wing, military- dominated government against Marxist guerrillas led by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), leaving more than 75,000 people dead and 500,000 displaced. The conservative National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party held the presidency for two decades beginning in 1989, but it faced growing competition from the FMLN, which evolved into a strong opposition party after the war. In 2007, ARENA and the smaller National Conciliation Party (PCN) began to build an alliance aimed at preventing the FMLN from taking power in the 2009 elections. Responding in part to the rise of the left in neighboring Nicaragua and other Latin American countries, they mounted what many analysts deemed a fear-based campaign that sought to link the FMLN and its presidential candidate, former journalist and self-described moderate Mauricio Funes, to leftist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes Earns High Marks Despite Lingering Economic and Security Problems Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository NotiCen Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) 1-6-2011 El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes Earns High Marks Despite Lingering Economic and Security Problems Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen Recommended Citation Witte-Lebhar, Benjamin. "El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes Earns High Marks Despite Lingering Economic and Security Problems." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen/9845 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiCen by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LADB Article Id: 078096 ISSN: 1089-1560 El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes Earns High Marks Despite Lingering Economic and Security Problems by Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Category/Department: El Salvador Published: Thursday, January 6, 2011 Salvadorans are proving a penchant for patience when it comes to President Mauricio Funes, who continues to enjoy strong popular support despite having only limited success in tackling the country’s two most pressing problems: crime and the economy. In 2009, the year Funes took office (NotiCen, June 4, 2009), El Salvador’s already frighteningly high murder rate soared, jumping 34% to a grim total of 4,382—an average of 12 per day. The new president, a former television journalist backed by the leftist Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), inherited an equally dire economic scenario. El Salvador’s economy, dragged down by global financial woes, contracted 3.5% in 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S
    . El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations Clare Ribando Seelke Specialist in Latin American Affairs October 13, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS21655 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress c11173008 . El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary Throughout the last few decades, the United States has maintained a strong interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country with a population of 7.2 million. During the 1980s, El Salvador was the largest recipient of U.S. aid in Latin America as its government struggled against the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) insurgency during a 12-year civil war. A peace accord negotiated in 1992 brought the war to an end and formally assimilated the FMLN into the political process as a political party. After the peace accords were signed, U.S. involvement shifted toward helping the government rebuild democracy and implement market- friendly economic reforms. Mauricio Funes of the FMLN was inaugurated to a five-year presidential term in June 2009. Funes defeated Rodrigo Ávila of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) in a close election in March 2009, marking the first FMLN presidential victory and the first transfer of political power between parties since the end of El Salvador’s civil war. Funes’ victory followed strong showings by the FMLN in the January 2009 municipal and legislative elections, in which the party won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly and the largest share of the municipal vote.
    [Show full text]
  • Judge Orders Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to Stand Trial Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository NotiCen Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) 12-17-2015 Judge Orders Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to Stand Trial Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen Recommended Citation Witte-Lebhar, Benjamin. "Judge Orders Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to Stand Trial." (2015). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen/10305 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiCen by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LADB Article Id: 79844 ISSN: 1089-1560 Judge Orders Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to Stand Trial by Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Category/Department: El Salvador Published: 2015-12-17 Francisco Flores (1999-2004), a 1990s-era political prodigy who earned his first Cabinet position in El Salvador while still in his 20s and won the presidency at just 39, is now fighting for his freedom following a landmark ruling ordering him to stand trial on multiple corruption charges. The show-stopping decision, handed down Dec. 3 by Judge Miguel Ángel García Argüello, set the stage for further proceedings against the embattled politician and revoked the house arrest privileges he had enjoyed since November 2014. Citing the gravity of the charges against Flores and calling him a flight risk, the judge ordered that the ex-president instead be kept in a Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) cellblock pending trial. The ruling upheld charges filed a year and a half earlier by the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), the Salvadoran attorney general’s office, which accuses Flores, 56, of embezzlement and illicit enrichment involving more than US$10 million donated during his presidency by Taiwan, presumably to aid victims of a pair of earthquakes in early 2001 (NotiCen, May 15, 2014).
    [Show full text]