Marcelo Rivera Mural

The Salvadoran anti-mines activist who we reported missing in late June is confirmed to have been tortured and murdered.

Community leader and activist Marcelo Rivera vanished from his community of San Isidro on June 18. On July 1, his body was found inside a dry well, with his belongings in an abandoned house nearby. DNA tests confirmed the body as his, and medical reports confirmed that he had been kept alive and tortured for several days before his murder. The pattern in this case is highly suggestive of the death squad killings that have plagued El Salvador and neighboring countries for decades.

The attorney general’s office quickly and conveniently concluded that there was no political motive to the killing and arrested four gang members as suspects. Officials claim that Rivera was drinking with the men and got into a fight with them and have closed the investigation. Fellow organizers, community members and family have rejected this narrative, insisting that Rivera was assassinated for his political work.

“To say that my brother died at the hands of gang members is not a credible story and it becomes an insult to our family,” said his brother, Miguel Rivera. “My brother was tortured; he was alive for 9 days after his disappearance. His trachea was broken with a nylon cord when they strangled him, forcing his arm toward his face. This is not the work of gang members; it is a crime of torture.”

The following account of Rivera’s life as an activist and the community response to his death comes from Claudia Rodríguez, Policy Director for the SHARE Foundation:

“Marcelo was an activist since his youth. In high school, he and his brother Miguel founded a community library in San Isidro; later they founded what it became the ‘Friends of San Isidro Association’ (ASIC), a hometown group with members in San Isidro and the United States. ASIC became the vehicle for community organizing in San Isidro. Through ASIC, residents work to improve their lives and defend their natural resources. They became unpopular with their municipal authorities when they opposed two of the main projects that the Mayor wanted to promote: a garbage dump and the development of the gold mining industry. Pacific Rim Mining Company’s main mining project in Latin American is El Dorado gold mine which happens to be in San Isidro, Cabañas. The mining company claims to have invested $77 million exploring the area; its managers hired workers and gained favors from the San Isidro mayor. ASIC, as part of the National Working Group against Metallic Mining in El Salvador (La Mesa), began a fearless opposition to the mining company. Marcelo was seen as the leader behind the community struggle.

“Moreover, Marcelo was politically active. In the January 2009 municipal elections, Marcelo, as an electoral volunteer supervising the voting centers, led a campaign to denounce and prevent the fraud that was about to take place in San Isidro when ARENA party members tried to bring illegal voters from the neighboring countries. As a result of the denunciation, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) suspended the elections in the town for one week. The incumbent mayor won the elections in the midst of the fraud scandal. After these events Marcelo was the target of verbal attacks, harassment and defamation campaigns. An ARENA member even tried to run him over with a car.

“None of these threats were ever investigated by the police and are not being considered in the current investigation. … In the meantime Marcelo’s family, his community and the anti-mining organizations throughout the country are mourning Marcelo. Hundreds of people attended his funeral last Saturday, July 12, in San Isidro. The streets of the small town were filled with people in all directions. The youth painted a mural in Marcelo’s memory at the community library that he and his brother founded. He was a beloved leader, an incredible and inspiring person. Marcelo will live in the hearts and minds of the people who struggle for peace and justice; his memory will be present in those who work to protect their environment and to make the world a better place.

“As a sign carried by a group of youth read: ‘Marcelo, nobody will quiet your voice, nor end your struggle. We demand Justice! You can kill people but not their ideals.’”