Word: sibrian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...shielding officers from charges of involvement in the death squads that carried out tens of thousands of kidnapings and killings. But the code of silence has broken down since police cracked a ring that kidnaped wealthy people and held them for ransom. Among those under arrest is Rodolfo Lopez Sibrian, a former national guard lieutenant who was accused, but never convicted, of ordering the execution of two American landreform specialists and a Salvadoran colleague...
...military court hearing last week, Sibrian and another defendant implicated two army colonels and a major with involvement in the abduction- for-profit conspiracy. The officers have not yet been formally charged with kidnaping. Nevertheless, the allegations mark the first time in memory that the El Salvadoran military has investigated the actions of its top brass. Said one Western observer: "The attitude of the junior officers is, 'Let's clean this thing...
...enlisted men said in their confessions that López Sibrian told them: "Look, inside the hotel is Viera and two other fair-skinned men. You are going to kill them." Soon after, López Sibrian handed Gómez González a 9-mm Ingram submachine gun. Meanwhile another officer, Captain Eduardo Avila, slapped a .45-cal. submachine gun, equipped with a silencer, in Valle Acevedo's hands...
...Sibrian, who denied being at the Sheraton that night, was put in a lineup to be viewed by witnesses of the incident. However, before appearing, he was allowed to dye his red hair black, cut it and shave off his mustache. Although nobody recognized him in the lineup, he was later identified by the killers. López Sibrian was also ordered to undergo a lie-detector test, and failed...
Although López Sibrian is now in military custody, U.S. officials are frustrated at the reluctance of the Salvadoran judiciary to pursue the case. American officials are also upset at the public support that Avila and López Sibrian have received from Roberto d'Aubuisson, the right-wing former army officer who became president of El Salvador's constituent assembly this year. D'Aubuisson called the accused officers "my colleagues and my friends. I am honored to be their friend. I know they are good soldiers...