Last Friday night, two suspects were arrested in El Salvador for the murder of four Dutch IKON journalists in 1982. reports Zembla on Sunday based on sources and reports in the Salvadoran media. It is the first time that arrests have been made in the 40-year-old murder case.
The four reporters were in the Latin American country in 1982 to cover two families in the violent civil war that ravaged El Salvador at the time. On their way to an area under rebel control, Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Hans ter Laag and Joop Willemsen were ambushed by the Salvadoran army. All four of them were shot dead. According to the Netherlands, this happened deliberately, El Salvador states that it was a terrible mistake.
Also read this interview with the brother of one of the murdered journalists: ‘The cabinet radiated: these are not our people’
arraigned on Monday
The two detainees are former Defense Minister General Guillermo García and Colonel Francisco Antonio Morán. They will be arraigned in court on Monday. According to Zembla, Dutch justice is on its way to El Salvador to question the suspects.
The prime suspect in the murder is Colonel Mario Reyes Mena. His whereabouts in the United States was traced by Zemlya in 2018. The program reported on Sunday that El Salvador Washington has requested the extradition of Reyes Mena.
Sonja ter Laag, sister of the deceased Hans ter Laag, responded on Twitter “extremely happy” to the news: