EL SALVADOR: POLICE CAPTURE JULY 5 POLICE ASSASSIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001286

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2017
TAGS: ES PGOV PREL PTER
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: POLICE CAPTURE JULY 5 POLICE ASSASSIN

REF: 2006 SAN SALVADOR 1736

Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jose Mario Belloso Castillo, the sniper
identified in press photographs as the assassin of riot
police (PNC/UMO) during July 5, 2006 disturbances at the
National University (UES),was apprehended by police early
July 2 after an all-night dragnet that led through the city's
storm sewers. Former FMLN Mejicanos City Councilman Belloso,
the subject of a year-long manhunt, surrendered without a
struggle after he emerged from the sewers and was recognized
by a passing policeman. He has promised to cooperate with
investigators and provide detailed information regarding the
events of July 5 if police will ensure the safety of his
family members. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Police began to receive tips around midday July 1
of unusual activity around Belloso's mother's home, in the
San Ramon area of the greater San Salvador municipality of
Mejicanos; family members entering and leaving the house
seemed unusually nervous and alert, and lookouts had been
posted nearby. Armed with a search warrant, police began to
surround the area in early afternoon, and on entering the
house discovered the entrance to a tunnel whereby Belloso had
fled. Sealing off avenues of escape, police pursued Belloso
throughout the night. Belloso exited the storm sewer in a
ravine in the San Luis area, and at 6:40 a.m. July 2 was
recognized and arrested by a rookie police officer on patrol.
(Note: Belloso's accomplice Luis Antonio Herrador Funes,
who was captured soon after the 2006 killings, was sentenced
May 30 to 23 years in prison for his role in the shootings.
End note.)


3. (SBU) In Belloso's home, police found weapons,
ammunition, and red kerchiefs emblazoned with hammer and
sickle, such as those used by July 5 rioters. More
importantly, police seized Belloso's computer and a number of
documents; a careful analysis of these materials has already
begun. With Belloso now in custody, leaders of all parties
except the FMLN have called for a thorough investigation to
identify those responsible for last year's violence. For
their part, the FMLN leadership generally declined comment;
their sole official statement characterized Belloso's capture
as having been orchestrated by the government to maximize
impact of the killings' one-year anniversary and to discredit
the FMLN.


4. (C) COMMENT: Belloso has stated that in exchange for
protection of his family members (who were arrested for
possession of illegal weapons),he will provide information
outlining the intellectual authors of last year's
assassinations, which were clearly premediated and carefully
planned (see reftel). The exact nature of the relationship
between the FMLN and the nation's most radical and violent
fringe groups, including the Salvadoran Revolutionary Student
Brigade (BRES),Limon Brigade, Popular Youth Bloc (BPJ),and
Secondary School Revolutionary Student Movement (MERS) has
never been clear; if Belloso's testimony and computer records
show direct links to FMLN leaders, it could have electoral
ramifications in 2009. END COMMENT.
Glazer