Defense Minister René Merino Monroy’s version of the military takeover of the Legislative Assembly on February 9, 2020 (9-F) is that it was a “major security operation” ordered by President Nayib Bukele. Merino said that 9-F was not a military operation, and that he was only at the Assembly to oversee security. Moreover, the entire deployment and mobilization of the troops was coordinated by the President’s General Staff [Estado Mayor Presidencial - EMP], the military unit in charge of the President’s security. Merino Monroy went on to say that it was not his place to explain Bukele’s “political act” of threatening to dissolve the Legislative Assembly that day.
For 10 hours, the Defense Minister reiterated his answers to the Assembly’s 17-point questionnaire, repeatedly denying each point late into the night. Somewhat absurdly, he even refused to say the name of EMP head Colonel Manuel Antonio Acevedo, whom he pointed to as the person responsible for planning the 9-F “security escort”. However, when cross-examined by the ARENA Representatives who showed him a photo of Acevedo standing behind the president that day, Merino Monroy did concede that Acevedo was the officer in charge of a deployment that included additional Army units as reinforcements, due to the “circumstances”.
According to the Constitutional Court [Sala de lo Constitucional], on February 9, 2020, now widely known as 9-F, President Bukele abused his power by ordering the Army to exceed its own authority, and put democracy at risk that day. Earlier that day Bukele summoned thousands of his followers to the Legislative Assembly, invoking the constitutional right to insurrection, and declaring that he had the power to dissolve the Assembly. “If we want to, we can just push the button,” said Bukele. His excuse for 9-F was that the Assembly had failed to approve a loan to fund his security plan, but it was really a ploy to deal with an image problem, according to an El Faro report. On that day, public employees, government supporters, and others invited by the President gathered in front of a platform and screens set up by the government at one of Assembly entrances. The day before, the Army closed off the streets around the Assembly and the government also withdrew security protection for the Assembly. Several Representatives also denounced the Army’s presence in their homes and workplaces. The night before, Merino Monroy swore his allegiance to the President and awaited orders. The National Police and the Army took over security at the entrance to the Assembly the next day. Armed military personnel then entered the Blue Room, where Bukele sat in Assembly President Ponce’s chair and called a plenary session to order without a quorum. Bukele took a moment to pray, then declared that God had asked him to be patient with the Assembly, giving it a deadline of one week to approve the loan.
Merino Monroy began answering questions about the events of 9-F at 10:16 AM on August 21. “I am going to report the truth about the February 9 events,” he said, before embarking on a semantic discussion. He read several dictionary definitions of military terms: “all the activities carried out by land, sea, and air forces to fulfill their missions in times of war,” and began to build his defense from there. The Assembly’s questionnaire used the terms “operation” and “military operation.”
In his first statement, Merino Monroy said that “the Armed Forces were not responsible for that security escort, as it was conducted by the President’s General Staff.” He claimed that it was conducted within the parameters of the law, and that it did not put any part of the national security plan [Plan de Control Territorial] at risk. Furthermore, he said that no one needed to give an order for this because one of the EMP’s functions is to protect the President. Lastly, he said that Representative Guillermo Gallegos, second vice president of the Assembly, was the one who authorized opening the Blue Room for the President to enter.
According to the regulation that authorized its creation, the EMP is directly under the President’s authority, which was the Defense Minister’s excuse to disassociate himself from the events of February 9.
During his testimony, the Defense Minister was flanked by his Deputy Minister, Ennio Rivera, and Carlos Tejada Murcia (chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Miguel Angel Rivas Bonilla (vice-chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff). In the back of the visitors’ chamber were four other military men, a dozen communications staff, and an entourage of administration officials led by Ernesto Castro (the President’s private secretary and a leading Nuevas Ideas candidate for the 2021 elections) and Sofia Medina (Press Secretary).
Like fans watching a sports match, all the officials accompanying Merino applauded and booed when cued by Medina, such as when Representative Adelmo Rivas (GANA party) said he never felt safer than on February 9. During the breaks, these officials used Los Constituyentes, a private section of the Blue Room, as a kind of war room.
Throughout the proceedings, the pro-government Representatives dedicated themselves to interrupting or to serving up soft questions, such as when Martel asked “How many tanks did you bring today?” which seemed to lighten Merino’s serious demeanor. “No security forces are with me today,” he said, smiling. Representative Gallegos offered up a clearly slanted question, asking “Do you agree that there was no violence or human rights violations on February 9?”
Merino Monroy: “It’s not my place to explain a political act.”
At noon, during the first round of questions from Representative Rodolfo Parker, Defense Minister Merino described the President’s February 9 incursion inside the Blue Room as “a political act,” and said it wasn’t his place to answer questions about it. Parker asked if such a procedure or operation was necessary for a President of the Republic to enter the Legislative Assembly and open a plenary session. “I'm here to explain the use of military personnel. My response is technical, not political. It’s not my job to explain a political act,” said Merino Monroy.
Parker, who is well-versed in military affairs from his time as legal advisor to the Army’s Honor Committee during the war, had some of the sharpest confrontations of the day with Merino Monroy. When he asked who ordered or conducted the 9-F security operation, Merino responded by citing the regulations governing the EMP. Looking for a name, Parker repeated his question. Merino then made the first of several personal insinuations. “Everyone with sufficient intellectual capacity can understand this,” he said. “I can’t give you an answer just because it’s what you want to hear.” After 20 minutes of this back and forth, Parker concluded “If the EMP gave the order for the February 9th operation, then it was by President Nayib Bukele’s direct order.”
Merino Monroy attacked Parker once again later in the afternoon. “It has been said here that the events of February 9 are the country’s worst embarrassment ever. But even more embarrassing is what’s happening in Spain right now because of an event in 1989,” he said, referring to the Army’s massacre of the Jesuit priests and their coworkers. The United Nations Truth Commission singled out Representative Parker as a key person in the cover-up of that case. Parker replied, 'Well, you can bring up personal matters with me all you want, but we’re going to continue with this inquiry whether you like it or not.”
This exchange highlights one of the key factors in the political crisis that has gripped El Salvador since 2018. Some of the main figures in the political opposition to the current administration have legitimacy problems due to their past history. Although Parker asked some of the inquiry’s most incisive questions, Bukele’s strategy has been to point out obvious incongruities. For example, General Mauricio Vargas, a member of La Tandona (a large class of Army officers cited for human rights violations), said that “it was frightening to see a president surrounded by military personnel entering the Blue Room.” Vargas has been scrutinized for the actions of his troops in Morazán, and has a photo of Domingo Monterrosa in his office, one of the officers accused of the El Mozote massacre in 1981 of almost a thousand civilians.
Vargas did not question Merino Monroy about the 9-F events, but instead asked about military concepts such as apoliticism and subordination. “What are the guidelines regarding apolitical behavior when handing out the family assistance basket of goods [bolsas solidarias]...?” Vargas asked, before being admonished by Ponce for not abiding by the inquiry rules and wasting one of his allotted questions.
When his turn came around again, Representative Parker questioned Merino Monroy about who approved the military reinforcements for the EMP. Representative Cristina Cornejo (FMLN) then asked whether disproportionate force was used to ensure security. That line of questioning led Merino Monroy to admit that there were other units present in the Blue Room besides the EMP. (Photo evidence of the presence of other military officers exists). He also indicated that the “EMP advance officer” was responsible for planning the operation. “The EMP chief is able to request security reinforcements. No special forces were present, but other military units were. He needed more troops because the design of the security escort required them,” said Merino.
Merino Monroy stated that the EMP “prepares tactical orders for each deployment” and that “the principle of economy of force required the involvement of other units that could provide security.” When asked whether the use of force was proportional, he answered that it was an EMP decision. “The EMP advance officer developed a plan detailing the security escort,” he said, comparing it to 2013 when Defense Minister Munguía Payés deployed Air Force troops and planes to fly over the Legislative Assembly. No armed military personnel entered the Blue Room on that occasion.
Representative Emilio Corea recalled that President Bukele visited the Legislative Assembly on June 3, 2019 and January 9, 2020 without the “security escort” used on 9-F. Merino Monroy explained that the circumstances then were different, such as the number of people gathered around the Legislative Assembly.
One of Bukele’s Star Ministers
During the first round of questions, Representative Yanci Urbina (FMLN) asked Merino Monroy what he was doing in the Assembly on 9-F if he had no role in the operation. “One of my duties is supervision. People have seen me in Las Margaritas or in Sierra Morena. I came to see if all was well,” replied Merino Monroy.
Merino Monroy’s public presence is partly the result of a communications campaign to publicize the work of some government officials. He was the official named in the President’s first order issued on Twitter. On June 1, 2019, Bukele ordered Merino to remove Domingo Monterrosa’s name from the Third Infantry Brigade building in San Miguel. This was an unprecedented order that even previous FMLN administrations had avoided. The willingness of Merino Monroy and the Bukele government to collaborate with the El Mozote investigation remains to be seen. The judge presiding over the El Mozote case has summoned Merino Monroy to a hearing on August 28 to plan the court’s review of military archives.
Merino Monroy and the Army have played a leading role in almost every government crisis of the past 18 months, including the water contamination crisis of January 2020, the COVID-19 emergency, the military blockade of La Libertad (for which the Attorney General summoned him to testify), the floods from the May 2020 storms, the locust infestation prevention escort, and of course, the 9-F events. In the weeks leading up to his meeting with the Assembly, the government’s public relations machine released videos and hashtags of Merino Monroy rescuing old ladies from floods and even cracking a coconut open with a machete, images that have been simultaneously praised and mocked on social media networks. More recently, days after the hearing, the Minister was shown in his military attire playing soccer with young men.
Before becoming Defense Minister, when he was the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Merino Monroy was charged with nepotism in the Ethics Tribunal. El Faro obtained a copy of the charges filed against Merino on September 11, 2018, which contend that Merino obtained appointments for his children in the Navy’s elite Trident group. The Ethics Tribunal has been silent on the matter ever since.
In January 2020, Merino Monroy defended his promotion to Navy Rear Admiral after El Diario de Hoy published an article questioning the legality of that promotion due to the participants in the Promotion Tribunal, and because Merino had retired from military service prior to the promotion.
ARENA: “The President’s General Staff must be worried”
The plenary session resumed at 2:30 pm. Dina Argueta (FMLN) began by asking Merino for the name and rank of the officer in charge of the 9-F operation. Merino Monroy replied that he had already explained the basic areas of responsibility in the Army, and that “the inattention or inability of those to understand what was already explained leads to situations like this.” The FMLN leadership, including Urbina and Cornejo, the two FMLN representatives on the Assembly Board of Directors began to protest this response. Ponce called for a 10-minute break, after which women from all the opposition parties who considered Merino’s response to have been offensive, approached his podium and handed him copies of the Special Comprehensive Law for a Life Free of Violence against Women [Ley Especial Integral para una Vida Libre de Violencia contra la Mujer - LEIV].
By now, GANA, PCN, CD and the independent representative had given up asking questions. The first three parties indicated that they were satisfied with the answers given. Representatives Numan Salgado and Adelmo Rivas even congratulated each other regarding the statement by Attorney General Raúl Melara, who declared that a few excesses occurred on 9-F, but no crimes. “Don't worry, even the Attorney General said that there’s nothing to investigate,” said Rivas. However, Bonilla claimed that Merino was stonewalling and even asked for a vote to end the plenary session. The President’s entourage had also lost some enthusiasm, and was no longer participating as actively.
Javier Valdez (FMLN) asked Merino Monroy if he would do anything differently if similar circumstances presented themselves in the future, but Merino replied that he could not answer hypothetical questions. When Valdez persisted, Ponce reminded him that no one can be forced to incriminate themselves. Valdez nodded, but replied that the Armed Forces should desist from supporting such actions, reminding everyone of the Constitutional Court’s resolution ordering Bukele to refrain from using the Army and putting El Salvador’s democracy at risk.
By nightfall, Merino Monroy had been repeating the same answers for most of the day. Representative Ricardo Velasquez Parker pointed out a contradiction. While Merino Monroy claimed that 9-F was nothing more than a security procedure, Bukele had previously said in an interview with rapper Rene “Residente” Perez that it had been “a way to pressure” the Legislative Assembly, and even posted a clip of that interview. In her statement, Karina Sosa told Merino, “I admire your persistence in denying the undeniable. Your position and mine are ephemeral, but you just made history.”
In his last round of questions a little after 8:00 PM, Representative Julio Fabián once again asked Merino Monroy to “give me the name of the person in charge of the President’s General Staff at that time [during the 9-F operation].” Merino Monroy said that he had already replied to that question, even though he had never given a name. Fabian then took another tack, and asked “Do you know Colonel Manuel Antonio Acevedo López? Where was he posted at that time?” Merino Monroy only answered “Yes, I know him,” which drew applause from the President’s delegation. When Fabian asked Merino again where Acevedo was posted, he replied that “it’s not my responsibility to know that. The Army General Orders indicate the posts of each commander.”
Ricardo Godoy then took up where his colleague left off, after Fabian passed him a photo showing Acevedo. Pointing to Acevedo in the photo, Godoy asked Merino if Acevedo was the person behind the President. Merino Monroy said, “Yes, the head of the EMP accompanies the President at all times.”
Hours before, Alberto Romero had already concluded: “They came today to dump everything on him [Acevedo]. So, I’ll be waiting with the Commission for the head of the EMP,” referring to the Special Commission created by the Assembly to investigate the 9-F events. Carlos Reyes added, “the head of the EMP must be rather worried.”
