Inocente Orlando Montano, a former colonel and vice minister of public security in El Salvador, was arrested on immigration charges Tuesday in Boston, MA. On Wednesday, a judge agreed to release him on $50,000 bail. He will now wear an ankle bracelet and live with his sister in Saugus while he fights the immigration charges. According to his lawyer, the 69-year old Montano is recovering from bladder cancer and an infection. He has also been working since 2003 and living in Everett, MA with his wife.
It's not that unreasonable to release Montano while he fights the charges. While alleged to have done much more, at this time he's only accused of having lied on immigration forms. However,
Federal prosecutor John Capin said in court Tuesday that Montano left Massachusetts late last week, apparently intending to make his way back to El Salvador through Mexico, but was intercepted by federal agents in Virginia.
That sure makes it sound like he’s a flight risk. It’s probably why he’s wearing an ankle bracelet. But it gives you a good idea what he thinks his chances of being extradited from El Salvador are. And maybe he's right.
The news out of El Salvador this evening is that Supreme Court has refused to order the detention of nine men accused, along with Montano, of having been involved in the massacre of six Jesuit priests, their house keeper and her daughter at the University of Central in San Salvador in November 1989. The nine men had turned themselves in last week.
The court said it would consider an extradition request if one was received. But at present all that is pending against the men in El Salvador is an Interpol request that they be located, something that has already been accomplished.
"The supreme court cannot deliberate on whether it will decree the detention (of the men) or not, because Spain has not requested it," Justice Ulises De Dios Guzman told the government-run Radio Nacional station.
Guzman said the men "are not really" being released, because they were never detained.
From what I understand, no one should get too excited one way or another about today's events. Montano was arrested, processed, and released on bail. He'll now await his day in court.
The nine men in El Salvador were never under arrest and, at this time, will not be arrested. The Salvadoran government did what was required of it. Interpol sent out a request that the men be located. They have been located. If things change, like an extradition request is officially received, then the Salvadoran government will consider the request. They can't rule on whether they would act on such a request until they actually receive one.
I'm not really in favor of extraditing the men to Spain. Their crimes should be dealt with in El Salvador. I still hope that President Funes uses this opportunity to encourage the assembly to repeal the amnesty law or to at least begin to move the country in that direction.
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