Jennifer Casolo

Jennifer Jean Casolo is an American citizen who was arrested on November 26, 1989 by El Salvadoran government troops during the "Final Offensive" of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in San Salvador.

Arrest

Jennifer Jean Casolo was living in San Salvador under the sponsorship of Texas-based Christian Education Programs when her house was raided by the Salvadoran National Police on November 25, 1989 as part of the Salvadoran government's effort to eliminate illicit arms caches in San Salvador. Her arrest occurred during the November 1989 offensive by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a military action which resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000 people, mostly civilians. The FMLN's goal was to create a spontaneous urban insurrection in San Salvador; that effort failed.

A 1983 graduate of Brandeis University, the 28-year old Casolo was arrested after the raid on her residence revealed a massive cache of weapons buried in her backyard, believed to be intended for use by the FMLN during their assault on the capital. The cache consisted of 213 blocks of TNT, more than a hundred 60-millimeter Soviet mortar rounds, 405 electrical detonators, and 20,000 rounds for Soviet AK-47 assault and Dragunov sniper rifles.

Controversy

Casolo maintained that the arms were either planted or were there before she rented the house. She has consistently denied any knowledge of the weapons or why they were found in her house. However, the conservative special interest group, Accuracy In Media, has alleged that Casolo's house was surrounded by high walls in the front and back, with a solid metal gate in front. The group maintained that, because access to the backyard of the house could only be achieved through the house itself, it would be very difficult for someone to sneak this amount of weapons into the home. Additionally, the group claimed that videotape of the raid provided by the El Salvadoran police showed the arms and personal papers belonging to Casolo being excavated from her back yard. [ [http://www.aim.org/publications/aim_report/1990/03b.html "El Salvador's Cry: Tell The Truth"] , Accuracy In Media, March 8, 1990] Additionally, contrary to many who continue to claim that no arms were actually discovered in Casolo's rented house, an American Embassy official was present as the yard was searched, and an Embassy official who helped Salvadoran police coordinate the raid noted at the time, "It's a good bust.'" Additionally, Consular Officers from the Embassy were also with Ms. Casolo throughout her initial detention and subsequent interrogation. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4D91F3FF937A25751C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print U.S. Aides See No Victory in American's Release] by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, December 14, 1989]

In a 1989 report on El Salvador, however, Human Rights Watch noted that the Casolo arrest came at a time when the Salvadoran police and army were arresting, jailing and expelling foreigners working with Salvadoran churches and relief organizations. These critics stated their belief that the government used the Casolo incident as part of an effort to threaten and discredit the entire foreign religious community in El Salvador. They also expressed their concern that it appeared to them that the U.S. Embassy staff in San Salvador and officials in Washington appeared to have already accepted the Salvadoran military's view that Casolo's guilt was an established fact. On November 27, 1989, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater stated that "there are indications of her involvement, that's for certain." Faced with criticism for what appeared to be a bias towards Casolo, Fitzwater apologized "to anyone who feels that they were offended by this." [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/1989/WR89/Elsalva.htm Human Right's Watch Report El Salvador 1989] ]

Context

During this time period, many American and Europeans, often under the auspices of church organizations, were believed to be assisting the FMLN in what they believed was a liberation struggle against the Government of El Salvador. In another incident during the 1989 offensive, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was contacted by the FMLN and told that another American woman could be located at a specific location who was suffering from battle injuries. The ICRC picked up the woman, whose jaw had been destroyed by a bullet, and transported her to a San Salvador hospital. The evidence suggested that she had been moving with an FMLN unit when it clashed with a Salvadoran military patrol. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1574880225/ "Embassies Under Siege: Personal Accounts By Diplomats On The Front Line"] , edited by Ambassador Joseph G. Sullivan, 1995]

World Reaction

The Salvadoran government of Alfredo Cristiani was pressed by both the Salvadoran military and outraged citizens, who demanded prosecution of a foreigner contributing to the violence in their country. However, Casolo was also supported by a wide number of critics of the Salvadoran government, who demanded that she be released immediately. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark flew in to represent Casolo, as did a number of religious leaders.

After days of pressure, President Cristiani ordered Casolo released for lack of evidence and deported on December 13, 1989. After spending the Christmas holiday with her family in the U.S. Casolo undertook a nationwide public speaking tour to declare her innocence and denounce the Government of El Salvador and the United States' involvement in that country.

After her release, Casolo was asked to testify before a Congressional subcommittee on the conduct of U.S. Embassy officials in San Salvador during her detention. She later went to become a relatively well-known peace activist and is presently a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley. On the Berkeley website, Casolo listed her research interests as "Gender, political ecology, development theory, Latin American indigenous cultures".

Footnotes

References

* "Embassies Under Siege: Personal Accounts By Diplomats On The Front Line", edited by Ambassador Joseph G. Sullivan, 1995

*"Her Salvadoran ordeal over, Jennifer Casolo hits the road to end the war she left behind." People Weekly v. 33 (Jan. 22 '90) p. 64-5

*"The Evidence Against Casolo", W.W. Terry, The Oregonian, April 20, 1990, page B5.

*"U.S. Woman Tells of Salvadoran Ordeal" Parle, Jason, New York Times January 8, 1990, Monday Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 3, Column 4, 482 words

*"El Salvador's Cry: Tell The Truth", Accuracy In Media, March 8, 1990

*Human Rights Watch Country Report, El Salvador, 1989