Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about a heinous crime that occurred in El Salvador that has yet to be solved. On June 18, 2009, Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, an activist and community leader from the city of San Isidro, Cabaas, was kidnapped. His tortured remains were found on July 1 at the bottom of a dry well in the village of Agua Zarca. The cause of death apparently was asphyxiation, and evidence reportedly indicated that his kidnappers may have kept him alive for several days before murdering him. It is my understanding that four suspects, gang members, have been identified by the Attorney General's office as key suspects in the crime. Apparently, the prosecutor's hypothesis is that Mr. Rivera was with these gang members and was killed after a heated argument; in other words, that his death was a common crime, not a political assassination. There is reason to suspect otherwise. Mr. Rivera was a well known community leader.
Editor's note · Context
Leahy addresses the unresolved kidnapping and murder of activist Gustavo Marcelo Rivera in El Salvador.
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