Two suspects were arrested in El Salvador on Friday night for the murder of four Dutch IKON journalists in 1982. One of the four journalists was Jan Kuiper from Assen. This is evident from reports in Salvadoran media. Sources confirm the news about the arrests to Zembla.
Four IKON journalists – Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemsen and Hans ter Laag – were in El Salvador in 1982 for a report on the violent civil war. When they tried to get into guerrilla territory, they were met by soldiers of the government army and shot dead.
It is the first time that arrests have been made in the 40-year-old murder case. These are former Defense Minister General Guillermo García and Colonel Francisco Antonio Morán, at the time director of a special police service. The former minister lived in the United States until 2016, but was then deported because of his history of human rights violations in El Salvador.
In addition, El Salvador is asking the US to extradite Colonel Mario Reyes Mena, who is believed to be primarily responsible for the murder. Zembla traced the whereabouts of Reyes Mena in 2018.
The two suspects will be arraigned on Monday before a judge in Chalatenango. According to Zembla, the Dutch justice system is on its way to El Salvador to speak to the suspects.