José Guillermo García

José Guillermo García Merino (born 25 June 1933) is a former general of the military of El Salvador and was minister of defense of the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador between the years 1979 and 1983. in two precedent-setting legal actions: Ford v. Garcia, a lawsuit by the families of four Catholic churchwomen, including two Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, who were murdered by a Salvadoran military death squad on 2 December 1980. García's defense won the case, and the families appealed. Their appeal was denied, and in 2003, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear further proceedings. Ramagoza v. Garcia, a lawsuit filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability on behalf of survivors of torture during the Salvadoran Civil War. García lost, and a judgment of over $54 million (U.S.) was entered against him and his co-defendant, and upheld on appeal.

Deportation to El Salvador

Guillermo García and General Vides Casanova had been undergoing a deportation process since 1999. The Department of Homeland Security later charged García in 2009 with participating or assisting in torture and extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Minister of Defense.

On 12 April 2014, an immigration court judge ruled against García and called for his deportation. On 16 December 2015, it was announced that an immigration appeals court upheld the decision to deport Garcia. Garcia's attorney afterwards said they both plan to appeal the decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.

On 8 January 2016, American immigration officials deported General García back to El Salvador.

On 3 June 2025, Garcia was convicted by a jury in Chalatenango for the Santa Rita massacre in 1982 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.