The late Congressman John Joseph Moakley played an important role in moving El Salvador beyond repression and rebellion to peace.  In doing so, he forged a lasting relationship with the people of El Salvador.

20th Anniversary of the Jesuit Massacre

November 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the brutal killing of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America in El Salvador in 1989, an event that became known as the Jesuit Massacre. Congressman Joe Moakley led a congressional investigation into the matter and found that the Salvadoran military had ordered and carried out the murders. Currently, the Jesuit case is being reprosecuted in the Spanish courts by the Center for Justice and Accountability and the Spanish Association for Human Rights (APDHE). Read the news story. back to top^

Historical Perspective

Moakley's involvement in El Salvador began in the early 1980s after he met a Salvadoran couple who had sought sanctuary from the Salvadoran Civil War in a local church.  Moakley spent six years working to ease immigration restrictions on Salvadorans, and was later chosen to lead a congressional investigation into the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests and two women at the University of Central America in San Salvador.  During this time, the United States, fearing a leftist takeover, had been pouring funds into Salvadoran military operations, but when Moakley's probe revealed that the murders had been directed from the upper levels of the Salvadoran armed forces, Congress cut off military funding.  Moakley’s efforts led directly to a U.N. peace accord in 1992 and democratic elections in El Salvador.

back to top^

Research Information

The Moakley Archive at Suffolk University has many resources that help illustrate U.S. foreign relations with El Salvador during the 1980s and 1990s and in particular, Congressman Joe Moakley’s work related to El Salvador’s civil war, the investigation of the murders of Jesuit priests in 1989, human rights and immigration. 

Research Links:

Congressman Joe Moakley and El Salvador: A Research Guide : outline of resources for researchers

Suffolk/Moakley Archives Research Tool, or SMART: search our online catalog a

Oral history collection: interviews related to El Salvador

back to top^

Exhibit - Connections: Suffolk University Keeps Moakley Legacy Alive in El Salvador

Connections: Suffolk University Keeps Moakley Legacy Alive in El Salvador presented a look at the ongoing relationship between Suffolk University and the Salvadoran people and reprised the El Congresista exhibit (.pdf) to provide a context for today’s efforts.  The exhibit was on display at Suffolk University's Adams Gallery from November 1, 2008 to January 12, 2009.

back to top^