28
141.
On May 5, 1992 the Second Court issued summonses to the mayor of Meanguera as
well as to Pedro Chicas Romero, Juan Bautista Márquez, Rufina Amaya Amaya, Irma Romero Márquez,
Hilario Sánchez Gómez, María Teófila Pereira Argueta, María Amanda Martínez, Bernardino Guevara
Chicas, Lucila Romero Martínez, Domingo Vigil Amaya, Eustaquio Martínez Vigil and Sotero Guevara,
ordering them to indicate “the exact location of the common and individual graves containing the
145
cadavers to which this bloody event relates”.
142.
On May 7, 1992 the Second Court issued a decision ordering a legal inspection of the
places where “the bloody event under investigation occurred” and establishing a timetable for the
inspection. The order included nine locations for inspection between May 27 and July 20. It also ordered
146
that various authorities, communications media and international agencies should be invited.
143.
On May 14, 1992 a number of statements were received from surviving relatives
indicating in most cases that they could identify the places where their neighbors and relatives had been
147
buried.
144.
On May 19, 1992 the Ministry of Defense, “acting on instructions from the President of
the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces”, issued a communiqué indicating:
I wish to inform you that we have found no documentation of any kind relating to a presumed
military operation conducted on December 10, 1981 in the municipality of Meanguera, Department
of Morazán, and therefore I cannot supply the information you have requested. However, I should
draw to your attention the fact that the alleged events mentioned in your letter took place at the
time of another administration, and thus any information on the case you are investigating could be
requested from those officials who were in command of the Armed Forces at that time, since the
148
President of the Republic assumed his responsibilities only in June 1989.
145.
On May 26, 1992 the head of the Forensic Technical Unit sent a letter to the judge of the
Second Court reporting that persons had been appointed for the planned inspections. Those persons
were a soil analysis technician, two planimetric experts and a photographer. On May 27, 1992 those four
149
persons were sworn in.
146.
On May 27, 1992 the inspections began, and on June 1 the head of the operations unit
submitted an album of photographs and sketches from the technical inspection conducted in the village of
150
El Mozote . The inspection report indicated that, with the help of two survivors, Rufina Amaya and
Desiderio Marquez, the inspectors had gone over the sites corresponding to the houses of some
residents of El Mozote, where bodies of the victims had been buried or abandoned. In several of these
151
locations human remains were found, as well as evidence of generalized destruction of dwellings.
145
Writ of the Second Court, of May 5, 1992. Court record (Annex 2 to the petitioners’ communication of July 7, 2006).
146
writ of the Second Court, of May 7, 1992. Court record (Annex 2 to the petitioners’ communication of July 7, 2006); and
decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the communication from the State of October 14,
1993)
147
Court record (Annex 2 to the petitioners’ communication of July 7, 2006)
148
Communication from the Office of the President of May 19, 1992. Court record (Annex 2 to the petitioners’
communication of July 7, 2006); and decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the
communication from the State of October 14, 1993)
149
Communication from the Head of the Forensic Technical Unit of May 26, 1992. Court record (Annex 2 to the
petitioners’ communication of July 7, 2006); and decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the
communication from the State of October 14, 1993).
150
Decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the communication from the State of
October 14, 1993).
151
Inspection report of May 27, 1992. Court record (Annex 2 to the petitioners’ communication of July 7, 2006).