Moments after he is shot, frantic worshipers tend to their fallen priest, Archbishop Romero.

In March, Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass. A judicial investigation was initiated, headed by Judge Atilio Ramirez. He accused General Medrano, the death squad organizer and US favorite, and rightwing leader Roberto d'Aubuisson of hiring the assassins, and shortly after, fled the country after death threats and an attempt on his life. In exile, Judge Ramirez reports that the Criminal Investigation Section of the National Police did not arrive until four days after the assassination and "did not provide the Court any data or evidence of an investigation into the crime." The same was true of the Office of the Attorney General. Judge Ramirez concludes that "it is undoubtedly the case that from the very beginning, they were involved in a kind of conspiracy to cover up the murder." The security forces were not entirely inactive, however. They did raid the Legal Aid Office of the Archbishopric, removing all files bearing on the assassination, including testimony implicating the military. None of this evidence has surfaced, and neither the US government nor the press seems much interested. The Director of the Church Legal Aid Office also fled the country after death threats and warnings that his children and wife would be killed. The offices were repeatedly raided by security forces, and human rights leaders have been harassed and murdered, also with little notice in the press here, apart from reiteration of government lies that they were "guerrillas."