ICE deports 75-year-old man wanted in death squad killings during El Salvador’s civil war

A man wanted in El Salvador for murder and other crimes related to death squad executions during the country’s civil war has been deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Alvarado Benitez, 75, was deported by ICE authorities in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) on the 22nd and turned over to El Salvador law enforcement authorities for his role in the murders, according to ICE.

Death squad members are accused of kidnapping, torturing and murdering five civilians in the village of San Andrés in eastern El Salvador in April 1981. It is unclear what exact role Benitez played in the murders or how long he had been living in the USA.

Death squads were far-right paramilitary groups that operated in opposition to Marxist-Leninist guerrilla forces, mainly the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The civil war in El Salvador began in October 1979 and lasted more than 12 years.

Cammilla Wamsley, director of the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field office in Philadelphia, said multiple agencies helped secure Benitez’s deportation to El Salvador to face charges.

“The removal of Angel Anibal Alvarado Benitez is a triumph of cooperation between ERO Philadelphia, ERO Baltimore, HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) Baltimore, HSI San Salvador and ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center,” said Wamsley .

“It is our sincere hope that his return to face charges will help bring some justice to the people of El Salvador for the atrocities suffered during their civil war.”

The agency’s efforts to investigate and ultimately return Alvarado Benitez to Salvadoran authorities were initiated and supported by ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) with assistance from the HSI attaché in San Salvador.

The HRVWCC was established in 2008 to expand ICE’s efforts to identify, track and prosecute human rights abusers, ICE said in a statement. It leverages the expertise of a group of agents, historians, lawyers, intelligence and research experts, and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.

In June 2023, HSI and ERO in Baltimore administratively arrested Alvarado Benitez and served him with a notice to appear in immigration court for being present in the US without inspection.

ERO IN Baltimore transferred Benitez to Philadelphia at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg for deportation proceedings. The case was litigated by the Office of the Chief Counsel in Baltimore and resulted in an order of removal to El Salvador by an immigration judge. On February 9, Benitez’s removal order became administratively final.

The ERO unit conducts removals of individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States, including on the orders of immigration judges at the Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining whether a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal, ICE said.

Support Small Businesses. Keep the economy moving!

Access Brazilian Times radio: https://radiobraziliantimes.com/

CSI– The educational solution for international students. Transfer of language schools. Post-graduation transfer. Transfer after completion of OPT. We are located in Charlestown and Worcester (MA). Tel: 888-910-5051.

CUCKOO SIGNS– Graphics specialist in making your business appear. Stickers. T-shirts. Web site. We are located at 72 Chelsea Street, Everett (MA). Tel: 857-266-3801

Receive unlimited content from Brazilian Times newspaper in your email using the link http://braziliantimes.org and you will be added to the newsletter list. Participate in promotions, giveaways and more.

Florida vacation? Rent luxury homes at a great price directly from the owner. Properties with 5 to 8 bedrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, clubhouse. 15 minutes from Disney. Call Beatriz: (781) 333-7170

Source: From the editorial office