Out with the truth now!

By Dr. E. Faye Williams
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

In 1982–1985, I was busy studying in law school. I admit when one is in law school, there is little time left to read anything but law books. If I heard about atrocities committed in El Salvador during that time, surely Mitt Romney, who could afford far more leisure reading than I could, must have heard about the horrific things going on.

On January 27, 1982, a New York Times foreign correspondent told us about interviews with people in a small mountain village and surrounding hamlets who gave clear evidence that a major massacre occurred. He reported that he saw charred skulls and bones of dozens of bodies buried under burned-out roofs, beams and shattered tiles. At the edge of a nearby cornfield, he saw remains of young men, women and children. In another province, peasants said relatives and friends had been killed by government soldiers the past December. They’d compiled a list of names, ages and villages of 733–mostly children, women and old people, who they say were murdered by government soldiers. The Human Rights Commission working with the Catholic Church put the number at 926.

Human Rights Watch said these killers were an elite unit created, funded, trained and equipped by the U.S. They were engaged in the murder of many civilians. The reporter who shared this information was reassigned to the Financial Desk. He took a leave to write a book about the civil war in El Salvador. When he returned to the Times, he was sent back to the Financial desk and then to the Metro desk. He resigned. His treatment was an obvious attempt to hide the facts of what he had seen in El Salvador. But the TRUTH was out!!!

The tragic stories of plant closings by Mitt Romney and Bain Capital pale in comparison to Romney’s connection to these horrific events in El Salvador. About Romney, a recent Huffington Post article asserted that “Romney “defied his own beliefs” for personal gain. Now, he wants to be President!” Huff Post said, “Mitt Romney Started Bain With Money from Families Tied To Death Squads! Remembering the widely-broadcast news reports of the assassination of the beloved Archbishop Oscar Romero and other horrific murders in El Salvador, it is impossible to believe that Romney had not heard of these events before turning to investors linked to these atrocities for the “blood money” he sought to start Bain Capital.

Without question, Romney knew or should’ve known what was going on in El Salvador. He pushed these concerns aside and went for the money, receiving about $9 million. He was so connected that he went back for more for his Presidential race! Romney said, “Over the years, these Latin American friends have loyally rolled over investments in succeeding funds, actively participated in Bain Capital’s May investor meetings, and are still today one of the largest investor groups in Bain Capital.” He said he owes a great deal to Americans of Latin American descent—even naming some known to be financing death squads.

The memory of Archbishop Romero, the three American churchwomen and tens of thousands of people slain deserves an answer from Romney about the money he got from the Miami families tied to their death. We can’t just say, “That was a long time ago,” and go on with business as usual—or when they come in the morning, it could be for any one of us!

We have the right to know if these allegations about Romney are true. It isn’t enough to say, “We had investors in El Salvador, but had the families checked out.” What is the real cost of the money that made Romney so rich and out of touch with struggling Americans?

This article was originally published in the August 20, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper