Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta (; 23 August 1943 – 20 February 1992) was a Salvadoran military officer,

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

politician, and

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...

leader. In 1981, he co-founded and became the first leader of the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance (, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itse ...

(ARENA) and served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1983. He was a presidential candidate for 1984 presidential election, losing in the second round to

José Napoleón Duarte José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes (23 November 1925 – 23 February 1990) was a El Salvador, Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1984 to 1 June 1989. He was mayor of San Salvador before running for president in ...

, the former president of the Revolutionary Government Junta. After ARENA's loss in the 1985 legislative elections, D'Aubuisson stepped down in favor of

Alfredo Cristiani Alfredo Félix Cristiani Burkard (born 22 November 1947) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994. Life and career Born into a wealthy family in San Salvador, his father Felix Cristiani was an Italian im ...

and was designated as the party's honorary president for life. D'Aubuisson was named by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Truth Commission for El Salvador The Truth Commission for El Salvador () was a restorative justice truth commission approved by the United Nations to investigate the grave wrongdoings that occurred throughout the country's twelve year civil war. It is estimated that 1.4 percent ...

as having ordered the assassination of

Óscar Romero Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular ...

, the archbishop of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

in 1980.

Early life

Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta was born on 23 August 1943 in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. His father was Roberto d'Aubuisson Andrade, and his mother was Joaquina Arrieta Alvarado, a career civil servant. He is the descendant of Jacques, Marie, Germain, Gustave d'Aubuisson, who was born in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France in 1822 and arrived in El Salvador at the age of 20, where he established himself as an ironmonger and salesman. His father, Pierre d'Aubuisson, was

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

and Lord of Nailloux and Ramonville-Saint-Agne. D'Aubuisson enrolled in the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School in 1958 at the age of 15 and graduated in 1963, becoming a member of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

. He was part of La Tandona, the class of 1966 at the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School. In 1972, he was trained in communications at the

School of the Americas The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning (briefly known as Fort Moore) in Columbus, Georgia, the school bein ...

, a United States Department of Defense Institute that provides military training to government personnel in US-allied Latin American nations. After completing his studies at the institute, he became a member of the Salvadoran

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

.Wayne Partridge. "The School of the Americas: leadership or terrorist training?: jailed Ky. nun to be among protesters at annual rally Sunday", ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' (KY), 20 November 1999, 1A: "But the school can hardly be blamed for the misdeeds of its graduates, supporters say. D'Aubuisson, for example, attended only a six-week radio maintenance and repair course at the school." D'Aubuisson was also educated at the Taiwanese Fu Hsing Kang College.

Death squads

D'Aubuisson involved himself in

activity while in the military, and he became associated with the second death squad to emerge in El Salvador in the mid-1970s, called the White Warriors Union. In October 1979, after a group of progressive officers deposed the government of Carlos Humberto Romero in a bloodless coup d'état and established the Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG, 1979–1982), D'Aubuisson was forced out of military service for his death squad connections, although he continued working for senior military commanders secretly. D'Aubuisson was regularly featured on Salvadoran television denouncing alleged traitors and communists, who were then murdered shortly afterwards by death squads. On 7 May 1980, six weeks after the assassination of

, D'Aubuisson and a group of civilians and soldiers were arrested on a farm. The raiders found weapons and documents identifying D'Aubuisson and the civilians as death squad organizers and financiers, and of planning a coup d'état to depose the JRG. D'Aubuisson was soon released from prison, after 8 of the 14 military garrison commanders voted for his release, overruling the JRG. His opposition to the JRG gave him international infamy. In August 1981, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that D'Aubuisson "openly talked of the need to kill 200,000 to 300,000 people to restore peace to El Salvador". Shortly afterwards, on September 30, he founded ARENA (

), a

political party. D'Aubuisson accumulated much political capital among Salvadorans for his anti-

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

stridency and for his reputation as an effective

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

strategist. He often accused the JRG of being a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

threat to El Salvador.Loren Jenkins, "El Salvador," ''The Washington Post'', 16 August 1981, ''Washington Post Magazine'', p. 10. He praised Hitler to

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

journalists, out of belief in the

Jewish Bolshevism Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism, is an antisemitic and anti-communist conspiracy theory that claims that the Russian Revolution of 1917 was a Jewish plot and that Jews controlled the Soviet Union and international communist moveme ...

conspiracy: "You Germans were very intelligent. You realized that the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were responsible for the spread of Communism and you began to kill them." He also asked every

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

be murdered as instruments of Communism and threatened to kill James Richard Cheek, a

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

official under Carter.

Political career

President of the Legislative Assembly

In the 1982 legislative election, the PDC won 40 percent of the vote but not a controlling majority in the legislature. Meanwhile, ARENA won 29 percent of the vote, the PCN won 19 percent, Democratic Action (AD) won 8 percent, and other parties won the remaining 4 percent. D'Aubuisson was among one of ARENA's 19 deputies in the Legislative Assembly. Representing the

San Salvador Department San Salvador () is a department of El Salvador in the west central part of the country. The capital is San Salvador, which is also the national capital. The department has North of the Rio Lempa Valley, the "Valle de las Hamacas" (Hammock Valle ...

, he assumed office on 26 April 1982. Although ARENA and the PCN were held a majority and sought to elect D'Aubuisson as the country's president, pressure from the United States dissuaded the PCN which voted with the PDC to elect AD candidate Álvaro Magaña as the country's president. Rather than being elected as president of El Salvador, D'Aubuisson was instead elected as the president of the Legislative Assembly, serving from 26 April 1982 to 20 December 1983. The JRG's government ended on 2 May 1982 On 31 March 1983, D'Aubuisson was allowed entry to the United States by the

after deeming him not barred from entry any longer. When asked about D'Aubuisson's association with the assassination of Archbishop Romero, the

responded that "the allegations have not been substantiated." In November 1993, documents by the

, Defense Department, and the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

were released after pressure by Congress increased. The 12,000 documents revealed that the administrations of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

knew of the assassinations conducted by D'Aubuisson, including that of Oscar Romero, and still worked with him despite this.

1984 presidential campaign

On 25 March 1984, D'Aubuisson began his campaign for the Salvadoran presidency. On 2 May he lost the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

to former President of the Junta

of the Christian Democratic Party, receiving 46.4 percent of the vote to Duarte's 53.6 percent. D'Aubuisson claimed fraud and U.S. interference on behalf of Duarte, who was later confirmed to have been a CIA asset. In Washington D.C., a supporter of D'Aubuisson was Senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...

, who had close ties with D'Aubuisson's ARENA party. Helms opposed the appointment of Thomas R. Pickering as Ambassador to El Salvador,Link (2007), p. 248 and alleged that the CIA had interfered in the 1984 Salvadoran election in favor of Duarte, claiming that Pickering had "used the cloak of diplomacy to strangle freedom in the night". A CIA operative testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee was alleged by Helms to have admitted rigging the election, but senators who attended stated that, whilst the CIA operative admitted involvement, the person did not admit to rigging the election. Helms disclosed details of CIA financial support for Duarte, earning a rebuke from fellow senator

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, but Helms replied that his information came from sources in El Salvador, not the Senate committee. In December 1984, D'Aubuisson travelled to Washington and was presented with a plaque by groups such as the American Foreign Policy Council, the Moral Majority and the Young Americans for Freedom for “continuing efforts for freedom in the face of communist aggression which is an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere”.

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly

In 1985, D'Aubuisson was re-elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from San Salvador. In 1988, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly, but instead from La Libertad. In 1991, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly, again from La Libertad.

Death

D'Aubuisson died at 48 after a prolonged battle against

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

and bleeding ulcers on 20 February 1992.

Commission reports

After the Salvadoran Civil War, the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador and the

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese language, Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des ...

stated that D'Aubuisson "gave the order to assassinate the Archbishop" to military officers who also tried to kill judge Atilio Ramírez Amaya "to deter investigation of the case". Views of him among contemporary Salvadorans are mixed and often drawn across party lines. ARENA supporters revere him for his right-wing beliefs and steadfast opposition to communism. FMLN supporters vilify him for his alleged human rights atrocities and involvement in Archbishop Romero's assassination. On January 20, 2007, President Antonio Saca of the ARENA party paid homage to D'Aubuisson upon the anniversary of his death, promising "to continue the ARENA party, based upon his ideologic legacy." Amid opposition debate, ARENA tried to name D'Aubuisson a "meritorious son of El Salvador", a national honor, but failed due to the efforts of protesting Church leaders and human rights workers. He was known as "Chele" (light-skinned face) and was alleged to have been a leader of anti-communist

s that were alleged to have

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d and killed thousands of civilians before and during the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

. To political prisoners he was known as "Blowtorch Bob", due to his frequent use of a

blowtorch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning tool used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually in metalworking, but occasionally for foods like crème brûlée. Description Early blowtorches ...

in interrogation sessions.Shawn Foster. "Window to honor slain church workers: window will stand in memory of assassinations," ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' (UT), 22 April 1995, Religion section, D1.Editorial. "No hero for El Salvador ...," ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' (UT), 24 February 1992, A10. In 1986, ex-U.S. ambassador Robert White reported to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

that "there was sufficient evidence" to convict D'Aubuisson of planning and ordering Archbishop Romero's assassination, describing D'Aubuisson as a pathological killer, as early as his 1984 Salvadoran presidential run.Rod Nordland. "How 2 rose to vie for El Salvador's presidency," ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', 23 March 1984, A1. In April 2010, Alvaro Saravia, a former army captain who had admitted taking part in Romero's murder, testified in an interview with the Salvadoran newspaper ''El Faro'' that D'Aubuisson had given the order to proceed with the killing of the archbishop. The report of the U.N. truth commission in El Salvador following the Salvadoran Civil War found that D'Aubuisson was arrested on a farm following the assassination of the archbishop, along with weapons and documents tied to the assassination.

Sons

In February 2007, D'Aubuisson's son Eduardo, along with two ARENA politicians and their driver, were killed in Guatemala. Investigators suggested that the murders may have been connected to drug-trafficking groups. In March 2015, D'Aubuisson's surviving son, Roberto José d'Aubuisson Munguía, was elected mayor of Santa Tecla, a neighboring municipality of the capital San Salvador.

In popular culture

Tony Plana José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video ga ...

was cast as Maj. Maximiliano "Max" Casanova in the movie '' Salvador'' by

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

, a thinly disguised depiction of D'Aubuisson. In the 1989 film ''

Romero The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for an Ancient Roman or a modern day Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Rome, Roman. #A person on a religious journey or pilgrim ...

'', D'Aubuisson was depicted as Lt. Columa and played by Eddie Velez.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

"Report of the UN Truth Commission on El Salvador"
(1993)

(

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

's report on the 1984 presidential campaign), ''TIME'', 26 March 1984 (retrieved 6 November 2006).
Salvadoran Far-Right Leader Ill With Cancer
by Shirley Christian, ''The New York Times'', 22 July 1991 (retrieved 6 November 2006).
"US role in Salvador's brutal war"
BBC World Service, 24 March 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Aubuisson, Roberto 1944 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Salvadoran politicians Antisemitism in North America Candidates for President of El Salvador Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School alumni Counterinsurgency theorists Deaths from cancer in El Salvador Deaths from esophageal cancer Far-right politics in North America Fascism in El Salvador Members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Nationalist Republican Alliance politicians Neo-fascist politicians People of the Salvadoran Civil War People from La Libertad Department (El Salvador) Politicide perpetrators Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Salvadoran mass murderers Salvadoran people of French descent Salvadoran war criminals Fu Hsing Kang College alumni