Comment on Salvador detective won't let the dead lie silent

By ALBERTO ARCE, Associated Press, San Antonio Express-News: World
Mon, 11/24/2014 - 2:46pm

Salvador detective won't let the dead lie silent

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Israel Ticas calls himself the "lawyer for the dead," the man who can bring justice to the buried victims of El Salvador's brutal violence. The self-taught forensic scientist says he has opened about 90 common graves with more than 700 bodies over the past 12 years — and that is just a fraction of what is out there in a country in the clutch of street gangs, and haunted by the memories of a brutal civil war. In an unusual break, police captured three of the rival 18th Street gangsters and chased others into this arroyo with the fresh graves to help them locate the bodies. Some would argue digging up graves is a fool's errand in El Salvador, which has the world's second highest per capita homicide rate, and from which thousands of men, women and children flee each year. [...] this is a vocation for Ticas, a stocky systems engineer turned police detective who looks younger than his 51 years. Rather, he is a technician serving the rule of law from a small office that looks like a museum of horrors, with models of skulls and limbs, and walls papered in photographs of severed heads and salvaged bodies. In many cases he interviews protected witnesses, who provide details of murder: "She was killed because she knew too much about gang movements and security houses," according to one account. Ticas pulls a metal box out of his desk stuffed with photographs, identity documents and letters from desperate mothers who come knocking on his door.

 

Comment On This Story

Welcome to Wopular!

Welcome to Wopular

Wopular is an online newspaper rack, giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.

Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular, MWB, RottenTomatoes

Subscribe to Wopular's RSS Fan Wopular on Facebook Follow Wopular on Twitter Follow Wopular on Google Plus

MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site

Movies With Butter More Movie News

More World News

  • Ally of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Demands End to Ban on Social Media Platform X
    Time, Friday - 04/19/2024 - 06:47 AM

    ISLAMABAD — An important ally of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif demanded the government lift a two-month-old ban on the social media platform X, saying on Friday that it violates citizens’ right to speech and expression. The ban on X has been in place since February, when the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a nationwide protest against alleged election rigging ahead of the Feb.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
  • Amid U.S.-China Rivalry, Beijing Agrees to Send Two Furry Diplomats to San Francisco
    Time, Friday - 04/19/2024 - 05:15 AM

    BEIJING — San Francisco is the latest U. S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.” San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco’s first time hosting the beloved animals long-term—the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] San Diego previously announced it was receiving two pandas back in February. China is home to the only natural habitat for pandas and owns most of the black-and-white bears in the world.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
  • The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete
    Time, Friday - 04/19/2024 - 04:00 AM

    Earlier this month, two Indian writers published an ode to their Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Written in lyric form and titled “Forever In Our Hearts,” it recounts his achievements while singing his praises in highly effusive language. “With courage and wisdom/you show citizens the way,” it gushes. “Oh Modi, oh Modi/their hopes never sway/A people’s beacon, in whom they see light/Oh Modi, oh Modi, guiding day and night.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Such reverence captures the essence of Modi’s popularity.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
  • The U.S. Vetoes Resolution to Upgrade Palestine’s U.N. Membership
    Time, Friday - 04/19/2024 - 01:05 AM

    The U. S. blocked on Thursday a draft resolution that would have allowed the United Nations General Assembly to vote on allowing a Palestinian state to become a full member state of the U. N. The move has triggered backlash from other states and pro-Palestinian groups, as global divisions continue to sharpen over Israel’s war on Gaza. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The U.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
  • Apple Pulls Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads From App Store in China After Government Order
    Time, Friday - 04/19/2024 - 12:50 AM

    Apple Inc. said that it removed Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp and Threads from its China apps store after an order from the country’s internet regulator, which said the services pose risks to the country’s security. The order comes on the heels of a cleanup program Chinese regulators initiated in 2023 that was expected to remove many defunct or unregistered apps from domestic iOS and Android stores.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
  • Argentina Requests to Join NATO as President Milei Seeks to Boost Nation’s Global Prominence
    Time, Thursday - 04/18/2024 - 09:45 PM

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina formally requested on Thursday to join NATO as a global partner, a status that would clear the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when the right-wing government of President Javier Milei aims to boost ties with Western powers and attract investment. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The request came as NATO’s Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana held talks in Brussels on regional security challenges with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri. Geoana said he welcomed Argentina’s bid to become an accredited partner in the alliance—a valued role short of “ally” for nations that are not in NATO’s geographical area and not required to take part in collective military actions.

    More | Talk | Read It Later | Share