This day, the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court, in Cabañas, continues the trial against eight people accused of murdering María Inés Alvarenga Leiva in August 1989, in the Santa Marta canton, during the Salvadoran armed conflict.
The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) presented the final arguments of the case, requesting that an exemplary sentence be imposed on the defendants, who are accused of murder and illicit associations.
Of the eight defendants, six are present at the trial, while two have been declared in absentia and are being prosecuted in absentia, thanks to the reforms to the Criminal Procedure Code that allow trials to continue without the presence of the accused.
The accused in the trial are Fidel Dolores Recinos Alas, Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, Teodoro Antonio Pacheco, Miguel Ángel Gámez, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Alejandro Laínez García, José Eduardo Sancho Castañeda, and Arturo Serrano Ascencio. The last two, Sancho Castañeda and Serrano Ascencio, have been declared in rebellion.
According to the FGR, Alvarenga Leiva was murdered under the accusation of being an army informant, a crime that took place in the context of the civil war that bled the country between 1980 and 1992.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that it has expert, documentary and testimonial evidence that links the defendants to the murder. The trial takes place at a time when the wounds of the armed conflict remain open, and the families of the victims cry out for justice.
The Santa Marta canton, where the events occurred, was a key scene during the conflict, being a guerrilla stronghold.
María Inés Alvarenga was one of the many victims of the violence of that time. His family has waited more than 30 years for justice to be done, and today the FGR seeks to ensure that those responsible face the consequences of their actions.
This trial is a reflection of efforts to solve unsolved war crimes, in a country where thousands of similar cases are still waiting to be investigated. The armed conflict left more than 75,000 dead and missing, and this judicial process marks another step in the search for truth and national reconciliation.