U.S. detains former Salvadoran soldier accused of 1980s civil war massacre

A retired Salvadoran military man was detained by U.S. agents on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a brutal massacre of civilians during El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s.

Roberto Garay, who was a platoon commander of a special military unit known as the Atlacatl Battalion between 1981 and 1985, was detained Tuesday in New Jersey, according to a statement from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Atlacatl Battalion was responsible for several massacres, including the infamous El Mozote in 1981, which killed more than 1,000 villagers, mostly women and children. The battalion also carried out extrajudicial killings in three other massacres that exterminated hundreds of non-combatant civilians.

Garay is accused of "deliberately" misrepresenting his involvement in the massacre in an immigration application. The civil war in El Salvador, which lasted from 1980 to 1992, left some 75,000 dead and another 8,000 missing.

ICE stressed that individuals like Garay must be investigated, prosecuted, and removed from the United States.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary John K. Tien stressed that individuals who have committed atrocities abroad will not find safe haven in the United States.

Deportation officers from @ICEgovERO and @HSI_HQ special agents worked collaboratively to arrest a retired Salvadoran military officer accused in the El Mozote massacre – a case where more than 1,000 civilian adults and children were killed: https://t.co/NuK6i7LMt0 pic.twitter.com/R2Vyzj61vB

— ICE (@ICEgov) April 6, 2023