Lawyer recounts investigation of El Salvadorian death squads in “Assassination of a Saint”
Image courtesy of Matt Eisenbrandt) Matthew Eisenbrandt, ’97 LAS, published Assassination of a Saint. The story offers insight into the motives behind the death squads in El Salvador. On March 24, 1980, the assassination of El Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Romero rocked that nation and the world. Despite the efforts of many in El Salvador and beyond, those responsible for Romero’s murder remain unpunished for the crime. Assassination of a Saint is the story of an international team of lawyers, private investigators and human-rights experts that fought to bring justice for the slain hero.
Eisenbrandt, a lawyer who was part of the investigative team, recounts in this narrative how he and his colleagues interviewed eyewitnesses and former members of death squads while searching for evidence on those who financed them. As investigators worked toward the only court verdict ever reached for the murder of the archbishop, they uncovered information with profound implications for El Salvador and the U.S.
Eisenbrandt is a U.S.-trained human-rights attorney who pursues the legal prosecution of war criminals. Currently based in Canada, he is a special consultant to Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver, and special advisor to the Canadian Centre for International Justice, Ottawa.
To learn more about his book, visit the University of California Press’ website.
