‘Death Squads? Could Be’
The FBI and Congress should vigorously investigate the abduction and torture of a Salvadoran woman.
Her abductors identified themselves as members of the Salvadoran death squads. She was raped, cut with knives, beaten and tortured with fire. She was told to return to her friends and tell them “We are here.” She was interrogated about her political activities and was asked questions that indicate that the kidnapers intend to do this to others.
Later that week, notes appeared threatening other Salvadoran activists, saying that they should fear for their lives.
The attack against this woman is not merely criminal, it is political and should be investigated as such. The Salvadoran death squads believe that they can operate here because their victims have little recourse against such brutality. But we must prove them wrong. Salvadorans and Americans opposed to U.S. foreign policy have the right to state their opposition, to lobby Congress and garner support from the public. They should be adequately protected by law enforcement agencies.
How tragic it is that, while Lt. Col. Oliver North sat before the cameras stating his right to carry out the President’s wishes outside the law, a woman is brutally tortured here in the United States through the same extra-legal process.
BARBARA BROOKS
Los Angeles
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