Who killed El Salvadors archbishop?
The week's news at a glance.
Fresno, Calif.
A federal judge ruled this week that a retired Salvadoran air force captain living in California—Alvaro Rafael Saravia—was liable for the 1980 murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero. A sniper shot Romero as he celebrated Mass, but the killer was never caught. A San Francisco human rights organization filed a lawsuit accusing Saravia of plotting the murder with his boss, the late Maj. Roberto D’Abuisson. Days before the killing, D’Abuisson had condemned the archbishop for accusing the government of excessive violence in its war against leftist guerrillas. Saravia didn’t show up for the trial, but Judge Oliver Wanger ordered him to pay $10 million in damages. “To be liable for the killing of a human being,” Wanger said, “you don’t have to pull the trigger.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Is the new Palestinian unity a mirage? And how will it affect the war?
Today's Big Question 'Bitter foes' Hamas and Fatah look to the future
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Wall Street tumbles on poor tech results
Speed Read US markets had their worst day since 2022 as Tesla and AI stocks dropped
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Salt Lake City named host of 2034 Winter Olympics
Speed Read The Winter Games are returning to the US for the first time in 32 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published