Autopsies Back Murder Charges in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR —  U.S. military autopsies show conclusively that two American soldiers were “murdered in cold blood . . . executed” by Salvadoran guerrillas after they had survived a crash-landing of their helicopter, U.S. Ambassador William G. Walker said Saturday.

Based on the autopsies, which showed that the two men died of bullets fired at close range into their heads, the somber-faced ambassador said, “I come to the conclusion that these men were murdered while in the custody of the FMLN (the rebel Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) . . . murdered in cold blood. I believe they were executed.”

The findings increase the likelihood of a major increase in U.S. military aid to El Salvador and raise serious questions about the motives and tactics of the FMLN, already under severe international criticism for a recent intensification of fighting in the decade-long civil war.

Walker’s charge came in a news conference called to release a preliminary report by a three-member military forensic medical team, which had just completed a 14-hour autopsy on the bodies of three U.S. Army personnel killed last Tuesday in eastern El Salvador when their helicopter was forced down by guerrilla ground fire. The helicopter was on a supply flight from San Salvador to an American base in Honduras.

The third soldier died of injuries suffered when the UH-1H Huey transport helicopter crash-landed after being hit near the village of Lolotique in the eastern province of San Miguel. The helicopter and crew were part of a supply and transport operation based in Honduras but used extensively in El Salvador. American officials denied it had any combat role and was armed only for self-defense.

The autopsy findings, which Walker and the forensic team said would be open to independent scrutiny, increase the possibility that President Bush will restore $42 million in U.S. military aid to El Salvador cut late last year by Congress to punish the government for a continuing failure to improve its record on human rights.

The measure, which cut the military aid in half for this year, allows the President to restore the assistance if he finds, among other things, that the FMLN is carrying on major offensive operations and not seriously negotiating a cease-fire. Diplomatic sources had said before the deaths of the Americans that a resumption of full aid is likely because of a six-week guerrilla offensive and their use of new antiaircraft weapons.

Walker declined to discuss what the President would do but indicated his own feelings by pointing out that even the strongest congressional critics of U.S. Central American policy have condemned the murder of the American servicemen.

“The United States government and the U.S. people will not take lightly the coldblooded execution” of Americans, Walker said.

The three forensic experts, who have worked in the investigations of several serious incidents, including the Challenger space accident and terrorist killings in the Middle East, are members of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

The key findings of their report, which will be completed over the next two weeks following more detailed tests in Washington, were that Army Pfc. Earnest G. Dawson and Lt. Col. David H. Pickett were killed by gunshots to the head fired at close range. Chief Warrant Officer Daniel S. Scott died in the crash.

According to Navy Capt. Glenn N. Wagner, head of the forensics team, Dawson “died of a single, small-caliber gunshot wound of the head . . . with the entrance wound in the back of the head (right side) and the exit wound in the left cheek. The trajectory of the wound is back to front, right to left, and downward.”

Wagner said the shot was fired from “within one or two feet (although) I am inclined to think” the gun was directly in contact with Dawson’s head.

Pickett, the report said, was hit by 10 gunshots from “at least two bursts of automatic fire,” but he died as the result of four shots directly into his face while he was lying on his back.

Wagner said the shots that killed Pickett were fired from a “range of two or three feet” and came from at least two high-velocity rifles, probably an M-16 and an AK-47, both of which are used by the FMLN.

He said the wounds indicate that Pickett had raised his left arm in front of his face as if to ward off the shots.

According to the report, none of the men were hit by gunfire while in their helicopter. And while Dawson suffered some internal injuries from the crash, he would have survived, it showed. Pickett, the autopsy showed, was uninjured in the crash.

The FMLN had no immediate reaction to the autopsy report. The rebels on Friday denied executing any of the Americans, and guerrilla spokesmen had said in advance that they wanted independent forensic experts to examine the bodies.

The FMLN has changed its version of the incident several times, starting with a claim that it shot down the helicopter, flying between 50 and 75 feet above the ground to avoid surface-to-air missiles, without knowledge that it was an American aircraft.

By that account, when guerrilla fighters found the downed Americans, one was dead and the other two died shortly after of injuries suffered in the crash.

Since then, the guerrillas have claimed that they did not realize the crew were Americans and that they were killed in a gunfight when they tried to resist capture.

However, the Americans, one of whom was black and the others far taller, heavier and lighter in complexion than most Salvadorans, were killed in such a way, according to the autopsy, to rule out any conclusion except murder.

In addition, local farmers brought to the scene by the guerrillas initially were told to help the Americans. Half an hour later, several farmers said, they were told to leave the area while a guerrilla watched over the captives.

They then said they heard several shots fired. When they returned, the helicopter was burning and the Americans were all dead.

Some diplomats say that the time between the crash and the shootings indicates that decisions were made by high-ranking rebel officers since guerrilla ground troops seldom make major decisions on their own and are in constant radio contact with superiors.

The FMLN’s behavior since the incident raises questions about the rebels similar to those raised about the Salvadoran army after its troops murdered six Jesuit priests in November, 1989. Those slayings were followed by conflicting reports from the military, judicial charges of government cover-ups and continuing doubt about what really happened and why.

“It is difficult to understand what they (the guerrillas) were thinking,” one diplomat said. “They could have won points by turning over the dead soldier to the Red Cross or even the survivors. Instead they guaranteed making enemies and probably getting the aid (to El Salvador) restored. They really screwed up.”

While the autopsy report leaves little doubt that Dawson and Pickett were killed at close range, one possible scenario, contrary to a coldblooded execution, was raised in newspaper accounts.

According to the daily El Mundo, a farmer said he overheard one guerrilla say to another, “Let’s put him out of his misery,” evidently referring to Dawson, who was incapacitated by his crash injuries.

One source speculated that when Dawson was shot, Pickett tried to interfere and was also shot. However, there is no confirmation of this version.

A remaining question is what impact the killings will have on cease-fire negotiations. Both sides had agreed to resume peace talks later this month after an impasse of more than three months.

Gen. Rene Emilio Ponce, the minister of defense, indicated Friday that he believes the guerrillas have shown they are not seriously interested in peace by killing the Americans.

Other Salvadoran officials, who asked not to be named, said that the FMLN should be held to the same standards as the army and that no peace agreement should be signed until the guerrillas punish everyone responsible for the Americans’ deaths.