US Lawsuit Filed Against Ex-Salvadoran Colonel for 1982 Dutch Journalists' Killings

The lawsuit seeks accountability for Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, accused of orchestrating the ambush during El Salvador's civil war.

The lawsuit was filed by Gert Kuiper, the brother of slain journalist Jan Kuiper, seeking damages and a declaration of responsibility.
Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, now 85, commanded the Fourth Infantry Brigade, implicated by a UN Truth Commission for the journalists' deaths.
The Dutch journalists were ambushed near El Paraíso military base while covering the civil war, with Reyes Mena reportedly ordering the attack.
Efforts to prosecute Reyes Mena have been stalled by a now-overturned Salvadoran amnesty law; an Interpol notice for his arrest remains active.
The Center for Justice and Accountability, a nonprofit legal group, is pursuing the case under U.S. laws like the Torture Victim Protection Act.