Two suspects were arrested in the 1982 murders of four Dutch IKON journalists in El Salvador, according to reports. zimbella. This is the first time the suspects in the 40-year-old murder case have been arrested.

El Salvador is also asking the United States to extradite Colonel Mario Reyes Mina. He is seen as the main person responsible for the murder. zimbella Track down the whereabouts of Reyes Mena in 2018.

The two arrested suspects are former Defense Minister General Guillermo Garcia and Colonel Francisco Antonio Moran, who was at the time director of a special police force.

Garcia lived in the United States until 2016. He was deported because of his history of human rights abuses in El Salvador.

The suspects will appear in court on Monday in Chalatenango. according to zimbella Dutch justice is on its way to El Salvador to speak to the two.

Journalists ambushed

Journalists Koes Koster, Jan Kieber, Joop Willemsen and Hans ter Laage reported for IKON in 1982 about the violent civil war in El Salvador. When they tried to enter the guerrilla zone controlled by the leftist rebel Farabundo Marti Liberation Front, they were ambushed by the government army and shot dead. According to the research, the order to commit the massacre came from Reyes Mina.

Activists and relatives have long been trying to bring those responsible to justice. Salvadoran media reported that those directly responsible for the ambush, the army chief and the commander of the infantry unit involved, were no longer alive.

“Justice at last”, Tweets Sonia ter Lagg, sister of Hans ter Laage, responded to the arrests on Sunday. “As the sister of Hans ter Lagg, who was only 25 years old when he was killed, I am very happy.”

IKON stands for Interchurch Broadcasting Netherlands. This was a public radio station that made television and radio on behalf of seven sects. Broadcaster closed in 2016.