El Salvador: The Military Breaks Ranks

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El Salvador's military command has long been suspected of shielding officers from charges of involvement in the death squads that carried out tens of thousands of kidnapings and killings. But the code of silence has broken down since police cracked a ring that kidnaped wealthy people and held them for ransom. Among those under arrest is Rodolfo Lopez Sibrian, a former national guard lieutenant who was accused, but never convicted, of ordering the execution of two American landreform specialists and a Salvadoran colleague in 1981.

At a military court hearing last week, Sibrian and another defendant implicated two army colonels and a major with involvement in the abduction- for-profit conspiracy. The officers have not yet been formally charged with kidnaping. Nevertheless, the allegations mark the first time in memory that the El Salvadoran military has investigated the actions of its top brass. Said one Western observer: "The attitude of the junior officers is, 'Let's clean this thing up.' "