Deportation Upheld Of Salvadoran Ex-Official For Torture, Killings

Deportation Upheld Of Salvadoran Ex-Official For Torture, Killings
By Suzanne Gamboa

An immigration appeals panel has upheld the deportation order of a former El Salvador defense minister who oversaw the torture and killings of thousands of civilians during that country's bloody civil war.

The Board of Immigration Appeals on Wednesday refused to overturn an immigration judge's order that Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, former defense minister and director of the Salvadoran National Guard, be removed from the U.S. and dismissed his appeal.

The appeals panel agreed that Vides Casanova participated in the tortures and killings of civilians from 1979 to 1989 because he was aware of them during and after the fact, he interfered with investigations of them, failed to prevent them and did not hold perpetrators accountable.

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The U.S. had backed the Salvadoran government during its civil war, so Vides Casanova had argued he should not be removed because he was upholding U.S. policies.

More:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/former-el-salvador-defense-ministers-deportation-upheld-n321801