World Notes El Salvador

Who ordered the killings of six Jesuit priests and two women that rocked El Salvador in 1989? And who participated in the subsequent cover-up? Although a Salvadoran court last week held two army officers responsible for the murders and acquitted seven lower-ranking soldiers, the answers to those questions may never be resolved. With the government under U.S. pressure to punish the perpetrators, the convictions of a colonel and a lieutenant capped a 20-month investigation and three-day trial. But suspicions linger that the two officers may be fall guys for higher-ranking officers who plotted the predawn massacre.

The jury's decision to convict military officers for politically motivated murders is a first for El Salvador. But the country's justice system remains shaky. The identities of the five jury members were kept secret to safeguard them against possible retribution. And the presiding judge plans to leave the country after the sentencing next month. As for the convicted felons, their time behind bars may be short: President Alfredo Cristiani has not ruled out a possible amnesty.