On December 2, 1980, four American Catholic missionaries — Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan — were abducted, raped, and murdered by members of the El Salvador National Guard. This horrific atrocity occurred during the Salvadoran Civil War, a period marked by extreme government violence and repression. The missionaries were targeted because of their involvement in humanitarian aid and their support for the poor and oppressed. The women’s ministry had included “women’s empowerment, community building, and action for justice and peace.” Their deaths highlighted the brutal reality of the military junta and the dangers faced by those who opposed the regime.
The civil war began after a 1979 military coup. Among the many activists who risked their lives to stand against the junta's oppression were Catholic priests and nuns. The outspoken Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while saying Mass.
While the Carter Administration initially cut aid and forced what ended up being a whitewash investigation, President Ronald Reagan wholeheartedly supported the murderous regime and administration officials actually tried to justify the killings of the nuns with his foreign policy advisor Jean Kirkpatrick saying that "the nuns were not just nuns. They were political activists."
After intense pressure within the US and internationally, four national guardsmen -- Daniel Canales Ramírez, Carlos Joaquín Contreras Palacios, Francisco Orlando Contreras Recinos and José Roberto Moreno Canjura -- and their superior, sub-sergeant Luis Antonio Colindres Alemán were convicted of murdering the four women and were sentenced to 30 years in prison. It is widely believed that others higher up involved in the planning and possible ordering of the killings were ignored and those involved in initially covering the crime up were never charged.
Mural representing those murdered by the junta including Romero and the nuns
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