Justice Denied: Impunity During and After the Salvadoran Civil War

Abstract

Justice Denied: Impunity During and After the Salvadoran Civil War is an examination of three infamous atrocities of the Salvadoran civil war and attempts to bring the those responsible to justice. The Salvadoran civil war lasted twelve years, from 1980-1992, and resulted in the deaths of approximately 75,000 civilians. The Salvadoran justice system, the international justice system vis-vis a United Nations Truth Commission, and the United States civil courts attempted to hold those responsible for the human rights atrocities accountable for their crimes. I argue that ultimately justice was never served due to four factors: corruption within the government of El Salvador, a lack of power given to the United Nations Truth Commission, United States Cold War politics, and the inability of the United States civil courts to create meaningful accountability for former members of the Salvadoran military responsible for human rights violations.