More Justice for Four Churchwomen?

            Justice for the Four U.S. Churchwomen killed in December 1980 may be at hand, as this week, a deportation trial against former Salvadoran General Eugenio Vides Casanova is under way in Orlando, FL. According to the Associated Press reports from April 18, Casanova was a close ally of the U.S. when he was El Salvador's top military official during the 1980s as the country fought Marxist guerrillas. He moved to South Florida when he left his post and has been living here ever since. Vides Casanova is the highest ranking military member to face possible deportation based on the alleged human rights abuses. He was acquitted of civil charges involving the Four Churchwomen murders in 2000.

            The case against Vides Casanova marks a turnaround in policy by the United States government towards the former defense minister, according to a report in the April 18 New York Times. Previous to the current case against the former general, who retired from his postings in the late 1980s, the U.S. government had enacted a hands-off policy that allowed him and other former Salvadoran officers safe haven in the U.S. Vides Casanova has been living in Florida.

            The New York Times report notes that the trial, which could result in the former general being deported to El Salvador, is expected to last about a week.