Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vides and the second or maternal family name is Casanova.

Brigadier General
Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova
Vides in 2015
Minister of National Defense
In office
April 1983 – May 1989
PresidentÁlvaro Magaña (until 1984)
José Napoleón Duarte (from 1984)
Preceded byJosé Guillermo García
Succeeded byRafael Humberto Larios López
Personal details
Born(1937-11-29)29 November 1937
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Died21 December 2023(2023-12-21) (aged 86)
San Salvador, El Salvador
SpouseLourdes Llach
ChildrenMaría Gema Vides Meléndez, Marta Del Carmen Vides Demmer, Geraldo Vides Meléndez[1]
OccupationMilitary
Known forHuman rights violations (torture)
Military service
Allegiance El Salvador
Branch/serviceSalvadoran Army
RankBrigadier General El Salvador Brigadier General
Battles/wars1979 Salvadoran coup d'état
Salvadoran Civil War

Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova (29 November 1937 – 21 December 2023) was the head of the Salvadoran national guard between the years 1979 and 1983 and later served as the nation's Minister of Defense between 1983 and 1989.[2]

In 1984, four national guardsmen who had once served under Vides Casanova's command – Daniel Canales Ramírez, Carlos Joaquín Contreras Palacios, Francisco Orlando Contreras Recinos and José Roberto Moreno Canjura – were convicted of murdering four American nuns and were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Their superior, sub-sergeant Luis Antonio Colindres Alemán, was also convicted of the murders.[3]

In 1998, the four murderers confessed to abducting, raping and murdering the four nuns and claimed that they did so because Alemán had informed them that they had to act on orders from high-level military officers.[3] Some were then released from prison after detailing how Vides and his cousin Col. Óscar Edgardo Casanova Vejar, the local military commander in Zacatecoluca, had planned and orchestrated the executions of the nuns.[4] A 16-year legal battle to deport General Vides Casanova soon commenced.[5]

Emigration to the United States

Following his retirement, General Vides left El Salvador and moved to Florida in 1989 as a legal permanent resident and lived in Palm Coast.[5]

After his first wife died, Vides married Lourdes Llach, daughter of coffee baron, amateur astronomer, and former Salvadoran ambassador to the Holy See (1977–1991)[6] Prudencio Llach Schonenberg.

Lawsuit cases

Vides Casanova was sued in the federal civil court of Miami, Florida in the United States in two precedent-setting cases. The cases are referred to by the surname of his co-defendant, José Guillermo García:

  • Ford v. Garcia, a lawsuit by the families of four Catholic nuns[3] who were abducted, raped and murdered by a Salvadoran military death squad on 2 December 1980. The defense won the case, and the families appealed. Their appeal was denied, and in 2003, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear further proceedings.
  • Ramagoza v. Garcia, a lawsuit by survivors of torture during the Salvadoran Civil War, including Carlos Mauricio and Neris González. Garcia and Vides lost, and a judgment of over $54 million (U.S.) was entered against them, and upheld on appeal.[7]

Deportation to El Salvador

On 6 October 2009 the United States Department of Homeland Security announced that it had initiated deportation proceedings against General Vides Casanova for assisting in the torture of Salvadoran civilians. On 24 February 2012, a Federal immigration judge cleared the way for his deportation.[8]

On 11 March 2015, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed General Vides Casanova's appeal.[9][10] On 8 April 2015, U.S. immigration officials deported General Vides Casanova to El Salvador.[5] The lawsuit filed against Vides Casanova and General García was featured in the 2018 film "The Path of the Shadows".[11][12]

Death

Vides Casanova died in San Salvador on 21 December 2023, at the age of 86.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Romagoza V. Casanova Archived 22 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (8 April 2015). "ICE removes former El Salvador defense minister". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Larry Rother (3 April 1998). "4 Salvadorans Say They Killed U.S. Nuns on Orders of Military". New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  4. ^ Larry Rother (3 April 1998). "4 Salvadorans Say They Killed U.S. Nuns on Orders of Military". New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Preston, Julia (8 April 2015). "U.S. Deports Salvadoran General Accused in '80s Killings". The New York Times.
  6. ^ List of Ambassadors, apostolische-nachfolge.de; accessed 14 April 2017.(in German)
  7. ^ "El Salvador generals guilty of torture". BBC News. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  8. ^ Preston, Julia (23 February 2012). "Salvadoran May Be Deported From U.S. for '80 Murders of Americans". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Board of Immigration Appeals. "Matter of Carlos Eugenio VIDES CASANOVA, Respondent" (PDF). justice.gov. Executive Office for Immigration Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. ^ Preston, Julia (12 March 2015). "General in El Salvador Killings in '80s Can Be Deported, Court Rules". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Watch the Path of the Shadows Online | Vimeo on Demand". 10 February 2019.
  12. ^ Mills, Justin (10 February 2019), Watch The Path of the Shadows Online | Vimeo On Demand, retrieved 28 July 2021
  13. ^ "Fallece exministro de Defensa, general Eugenio Vides Casanova". El Diario de Hoy. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  • [1] "The Path of The Shadows" Film
  • Ford v. Garcia Trial Background. Legal history section of PBS website on "Justice and the Generals" presentation in 2002; accessed 7 October 2005; confirmed online 11 December 2006.
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