-12Honduras. The witness’s husband, Mardoqueo Franco Orellana, constantly said to her: “what was [María Victoria Cruz Franco] thinking about to invent the loss of these children, because, if it was true, we [would] have known about it, because we were together in ‘the masses’ of the Farabundi Martí National Liberation Front.” 6. Antonio Miranda Castro, older brother of the alleged victims’ mother The witness is 75 years old and lives in Los Amates canton, San Isidro Labrador, Chalatenango Department. He is the elder brother of María Victoria Cruz Franco on their father’s side, and had known her very well since he was about 10 years old. The witness did not know Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz and, consequently, did not know about their alleged abduction. He knew Mrs. Cruz Franco’s deceased husband, Dionisio Serrano Morales, and the rest of her children, who belonged to “the masses” of the Farabundi Martí National Liberation Front during the armed conflict. In 1980, the witness lived very near the Serrano Cruz family and affirmed that “he had not seen [his sister] with any children called Erlinda and Ernestina,” nor had he observed that she was pregnant at that time. He considers that Mrs. Cruz Franco “want[ed] to prove something that [was] not true, since the aim [was] clear, […] she [sought] financial benefit.” When the witness found Mrs. Cruz Franco in Mesa Grande, Honduras, she never told him about the existence of Ernestina and Erlinda, or about their alleged abduction or loss. 7. Mardoqueo Franco Orellana, distant relative of the alleged victims’ mother The witness is 59 years old and lives in San José Las Flores, Chalatenango Department. He is a distant relative of María Victoria Cruz Franco, who he “knew exceedingly well” and also the whole family, since he had lived very near them for a long time in Santa Anita canton, San Antonio de La Cruz jurisdiction. The witness knew some of Mrs. Cruz Franco’s children; however, he never met Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz, or heard about their alleged abduction. He had close contacts with the Serrano Cruz family because they both belonged to “the masses” of the Farabundi Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). When they were in Los Alvarenga canton he does “not remember that there was a confrontation between the guerrilla and the Armed Forces […] and was certain that a helicopter never landed to abduct people or children.” The witness knew about the military operation called “guinda de mayo,” when “there was [a] confrontation between the Front and the Army.” At that time, he moved from one place to another with Dionisio Serrano, María Victoria Cruz and their family. He does not remember “having observed that the Army took Mrs. Cruz Franco’s daughters or children,” nor does he recall that they made “any comment related to the disappearance of Erlinda and Ernestina.”