429. Telegram From the Embassy in El Salvador to the Department of State1
2178. Subj: (C) Some Thoughts on the Archbishop’s Assassination.
1. (C-Entire text)
2. In death the Archbishop has become an even more important figure in El Salvador than he was in life.2 His assassination has shaken the JRG badly.3
3. In a fragmented political situation characterized more by distrust of government as an institution than by expectations of improvement, the JRG survives because of lack of an effective opposition. But Romero [Page 1086] the martyr could provide the extreme left with exactly that symbol and rallying point without which it may never be more than an embittered and increasingly violent minority.
4. The clear danger to the JRG and US interests in El Salvador is that the extreme left will take possession of the Archbishop’s popularity and moral authority, now magnified by violent death. He sympathized with the left; he encouraged it; he criticized its enemies. If it succeeds in taking up his mantle, the extreme left will have a powerful political symbol, perhaps capable of uniting sizeable groups of the poor, the moderate left, and the religious community. The JRG has reason for its nervousness.
5. Most frustrating from our point of view is the inability of the JRG or the PDC to stop this process. They stand discredited by his lack of faith of them, and by their connection with the security corps, a favorite target of his criticism.
6. So it is up to the extreme left to capitalize or fail to capitalize on Romero’s death. There is no particular reason to believe it will succeed. Political wisdom demands a course of action which it probably cannot manage in this time and place: a show of restraint, of measured response to national tragedy.
7. With his advocacy of non-violence and christian solutions, the Archbishop probably had a great deal less in common with the extreme left than either he or they believed. The next few days will show whether it is able to identify his aims with its own.4
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800158–0307. Confidential. Sent for information to Bogotá, Caracas, Guatemala City, Lima, Managua, Panama City, Quito, San José, Tegucigalpa, USCINSCO Quarry Heights, and DIA.↩
- In telegram 2117 from San Salvador, March 23, the Embassy reported on Archbishop Romero’s March 32 homily: “After a week of mutual accusations between El Salvador’s military forces and the Church, the Archbishop emphasized in his March 23 homily that he personally has no political ambitions, that he is carrying out the Church’s policy as expressed in various conferences, and that the only possible answers to this country’s problems are Christian solutions rather than those of any particular group.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800149–0028)↩
- In telegram 2145 from San Salvador, March 25, the Embassy reported independent reports that Romero had been shot by an unknown assailant while he was saying mass, noting that “the Archbishop reportedly died at a hospital a short time later.” White commented: “It would be difficult to exaggerate the impact this assassination will have on this country. The Archbishop was the spokesman for the poor and oppressed. Their righteous anger may prove uncontrollable.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800150–0664) Telegram 2146 from San Salvador, March 25, confirmed Romero’s death and reported that the JRG was meeting in an extraordinary session to “agree on measures to meet the crisis.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800150–0665)↩
- Officials attending a mini-SCC meeting on March 26 discussed Romero’s assassination. The summary of conclusions noted: “Radical Jesuit priests are working with leaders of the extremist groups to plan a spectacular procession, perhaps involving 200,000 people, for the funeral of the Archbishop this weekend. The extremists will probably try to use the demonstration to spark violence and perhaps an insurrection, along the lines of what the Sandinistas did after the assassination of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro. We will consult with the Vatican on future developments, and consider sending a mission to the funeral. We will brief the group, and perhaps consider having them take a message from Secretary Vance.” (Carter Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files, Box 183, SCM 117, Jamaica, 3/26/80)↩