Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Image courtesy LAC Press

An ex-Salvadoran colonel accused of helping plot the murder of Jesuit priests during the country’s civil conflict in 1989 will spend the next 21 months in a U.S. federal prison, followed by a year of supervised release, for immigration-related convictions. Inocente Orlando Montano, now 70, pled guilty to three counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury and was sentenced on Aug. 27 by U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock. Twenty years ago a United Nations commission said Montano participated in a meeting that planned the assassination of a priest accused of supporting rebels and that this led to the killing of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter. In 2001 Spanish authorities indicted Montano, the former vice minister of public security, for his alleged role in the killings. The United States has not yet responded to the extradition request from Spain. Carolyn Patty Blum of the Center for Justice and Accountability, which is involved in seeking his prosecution in Spain, said the sentence represented “a huge step forward to be incarcerating him for anything.” Montano has denied any involvement in killing priests. He expressed sorrow for the death of the Jesuits, adding: “Those individuals, in spite of their liberal mentality, were helping a lot in the peace process.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

A Reflection for Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, by Ashley McKinless
Ashley McKinlessApril 02, 2025
A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinApril 02, 2025
During his long and fruitful pontificate, St. John Paul II embraced the entire world, which stands yet again in need of his blessing, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.
Father Marko Rupnik, a well-known priest and artist, has been accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing more than 20 women.