Remembering Archbishop Oscar Romero

Americas Now

El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the world. June 2015 was one of its most violent months in recent memory, with 630 homicides reported for the country of just over six million people. According to numbers provided by the local police, violence in El Salvador is reaching levels similar to those of its Civil War that lasted from 1980 to 1992.

One of the catalysts for the intense violence of the Civil War was the assassination of Monsignor Oscar Romero. A humanitarian and archbishop, Romero spoke out against the abuse of the poor and victimized after witnessing great suffering. His words and actions created conflict with the government. He was killed in 1980, and his murderer never convicted.

Today, the escalating murder rate in El Salvador is the result of drug gangs fighting for turf. But many Salvadorans believe the deaths of Oscar Romero, and their loved ones from both the Civil War and in current times, all share the same root cause. A lack of justice.

As correspondent Grace Gonzalez reports from San Salvador, an Amnesty Law in place in El Salvador prevents members of the military who committed crimes from being prosecuted. Grace tells us more about those crimes and more about the Amnesty Law, in this report.

Remembering Archbishop Oscar Romero

El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the world. June 2015 was one of its most violent months in recent memory, with 630 homicides reported for the country of just over six million people.