After several years of research, we still have much to learn about the Yellow Book, a historic document of the military intelligence section of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. Why are some individuals known to have been victims of state repression listed in the Yellow Book, while others are not? What are the sources of the information compiled in the Yellow Book? How precisely was the Yellow Book used by agents in the field?
Given the great international interest in the Yellow Book, we are reaching out to you to help us solve some of these mysteries. Here are a few specific questions we’re still pondering. If you have any information about the Yellow Book or any individual profiled within, please contact us confidentially at info@unfinishedsentences.org.
What do the header codes mean?
Nearly all “list” pages within the Yellow Book employ an identical header format with four elements:
EMCFA, we know, is the acronym for the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces (Estado Mayor Conjunto de la Fuerza Armada), home of the military intelligence division known as C-II/D-II. The date is also easy to interpret. Two dates are listed in the current copy of the Yellow Book: July 6, 1987 and August 21, 1987.
The other codes are more cryptic: “SEDAG/ F 143” and “REF.C. AA06”. Are these references to a specific sector within the military hierarchy? Are they part of an internal filing system that links the Yellow Book to other documents in the military archives? We don’t know. Can you figure it out?
Why are some entries starred, highlighted, or crossed out?
This copy of the Yellow Book shows signs of use: names and photos are starred, underlined, highlighted, or crossed out. We noted some of these annotations in our spreadsheet transcript of the document, but we missed a few entries. Can you help us find them all?
In some cases, it’s easy to come up with ideas why an entry is marked, as in the case of the high level guerrilla commanders whose photos are starred in the document’s Phase A. Other cases offer no easy answers. Why is entry L05, Augusto Arístides Larin Brito, a supposed “political” supporter of the FMLN, highlighted? We don’t know. Do you?
Why are some individuals listed more than once?
In some cases, the same individual is listed more than once. Are these examples of redundant or erroneous record-keeping? Were these individuals arrested or reported to intelligence on more than one occasion? We don’t know.
Each of these cases is different: sometimes the information associated with the individual, such as their organizational affiliation, is inconsistent. Sometimes the exact same photo is used; in other cases, a new photo clearly of the same individual. In a few cases, the photos appear to depict different individuals. One emergent pattern is that many duplicate entries are marked “amnestied,” but even this is not consistent.
A list of the duplicate entries we have identified follows: can you find others?
A02 Abrego Rivas Carlos Orlando
A110 Abrego Rívas Carlos Orlando
A19 Alas Antonino Antonio RN Miliciano
A134 Alas Alas Antonio FPL Miembro
B59 BRAN Arévalo Pedro ANDES/FPL Miembro
B65 BEAN Arévalo Pedro FPL Miliciano
B38 BARAHONA Membreño Juán Francisco
B72 BARAHONA Membreño Francisco
D19 Diaz Valencia Guillermo CARLOS FPL Miliciano
D41 Diaz Valencia Guillermo CARLOS FPL/BPR Colaborador
E22 Escalante de Serrano María Lidia FPL Miembro Amnistiado
E35 Escalante de Serrano María Lidia ANDES, BPR, FPL Miembro
A129 Aguilar Chávez Mario Alberto CANTINFLAS FPL Combatiente
A200 AGUILAR Chávez Mario Alberto PPL Miliciano
A136 Alas Melgar Andrés FPL Combatiente
A205 ALAS Melgar Andrés ALFREDO FPL Combatiente
H02 Henriquez Carlos Alberto PCS Miembro
H106 Henriquez Carlos Alberto
PICTURES NOT MATCHES?
H82 Hernandez Ana Luz FPL Miembro
H85 Hernandez Castro Ana Luz FPL Miembro
PICTURES NOT MATCHES?
H92 Hernandez Martínez Exaltación de la Crúz RN/FARN Miliciano
H120 Hernandez Martínez Exaltación de la Crúz
PICTURES NOT MATCHES?
G97 Guzman Martínez Domingo SANTIAGO ERP Combatiente
G132 Guzman Martínez Domingo SANTIAGO ERP Miliciano Amnistiado
G107 Gutierrez Méndez Raúl VILLEGAS FPL Miliciano
G129 Gutierrez Méndez Raúl FMLN Miliciano Amnistiado
M135 Moran Mónico Salvador ERP Colaborador
M214 Moran Mónico Salvador Miembro Amnistiado
M118 Montalvo Molina Rafael Eliodoro FPL Miliciano
M206 Montalvo Molina Rafael Cleodoro FPL Miembro Amnistiado
M111 Molina Zelaya Cornelio FMLN Político
M205 Molina Zelaya Cornelio FMLN Miembro Amnistiado
M91 Menjivar Rivera Luis Antonio ROBERTO ARGUELLO FMLN Político
M195 Menjivar Rivera Luis Antonio ROBERTO MNR, FARN Miembro Amnistiado
M60 Mejia Mejía Héctor ROBERTO FPL Político
M179 Mejia Mejía Hector FPL Amnistiado
M47 Mata Vásquez Rafael Antonio MICHEL FPL Político Amnistiado
M168 Mata Vásquez Rafael Antonio MICHEL FPL Miembro Amnistiado
M42 Martinez Rodríguez Mariano Napoleón FPL Político
M164 Martinez Rodríguez Mariano Napoleón MARIO Amnistiado
M20 Martinez Arteaga Misael FPL Político
M159 Martinez Artiaga Misael FMLN Amnistiado ? Amnistiado
MISFILED (M20 AND M160 APPEAR TO MATCH)
M13 Martinez Blanca Ruth FMLN Miembro Amnistiado
M155 Martinez Blanca Ruth FMLN Activista Amnistiado
L15 Linares Córtez José David EUSEBIO (?) FMLN Miembro
L75 Linares Córtez José David GERMAN PCS Político
P94 Pacheco Calderón Mario Alfredo FPL Combatiente
P61 Pacheco Salmerón Mario Alfredo FPL/FUSS Miembro
P30 Peraza Paz Santos Antonio LUCIO/FELIPE RN/FARN Combatiente
P74 Peraza Paz Santos Antonio LUCIO RN/FARN Miliciano
P85 Pineda Torres Mario Salvador NICOLAS FARN Político
P49 Pineda Tórres Mario Salvador RN/FARN Miliciano
P45 Ponce Vásquez Esteban FPL Combatiente
P95 Ponce Vásquez Esteban FMLN Miliciano Amnistiado
R68 Rivera Mejía José Rigoberto ERP Miliciano
R70 Rivera Mejía José Rigoberto ERP Miliciano
S01 Sanchez Alvarado José Francisco ANSELMO FPL Miliciano
S40 Sanchez Alvarado José Francisco Combatiente
S02 Sanchez Solis Estanislao FPL Político
S42 Sanchez Solís Estanislao ADALBERTO FPL Miliciano