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Roberto D'Aubuisson

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Politician

The Resume

    (August 23, 1944-February 20, 1992)
    Born in Santa Tecla, El Salvador
    Trained in communications at the School of the Americas (1972)
    Founder of right-wing political party Nationalist Republican Alliance, or ARENA
    Leader of ultra-right death squad White Warrior Union
    Campaigned for Salvadoran presidency but lost to José Napoleón Duarte (March 25-May 2, 1984)
    Known as ‘Chele’, or ‘light-skinned face’
    Died of esophageal cancer

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a chain smoker.
    Wealthy landowners who supported him viewed him as a crusader against land reform.
    He commanded death squads that tortured and killed thousands of people before and during the Salvadoran Civil War, including Archbishop Oscar Romero. (1978-1982)
    He often used the blowtorch during interrogations, earning him the nickname ‘Blowtorch Bob’ by political prisoners.
    According to The Washington Post, he explicitly said that killing 200,000 to 300,000 people was necessary to restore peace to El Salvador. (August 1981)
    If that wasn’t enough, Pat Robertson called him a ‘very nice fellow maligned by biased liberalism’. (1984)
    Former US Ambassador Robert E. White described him as a ‘pathological killer’, which pretty much shows that Robertson’s description of him was wrong. (1986)
    He held real power during the presidency of Alfredo Christiani. (June 1, 1989-June 1, 1994)
    He was never tried for his crimes despite sufficient evidence to put him on trial.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Unlike many of his supporters, he didn’t come from a wealthy family.
    His paternal ancestor somehow managed to survive the malaria and yellow fever epidemics that claimed many workers trying to construct the Panama Canal.
    He was exceptionally good at mathematics when studying at a Jesuit high school.
    The leftists he fought tried to establish a Communist government in the likes of Castro’s Cuba and Nicaragua under the Sandinistas.
    Ironically, he was regularly denied visas to the U.S. despite his anti-communist stance.
    American conservative lobbyists rewarded him a plaque for ‘continuing efforts for freedom in the face of Communist aggression’. (December 5, 1984)
    He restrained right-wing radicals who wanted to stop Alfredo Christiani from signing a peace accord with the left-wing rebels.
    He still casts a strong influence on El Salvador even after his death.
    His son Eduardo, two ARENA congressmen, and their driver were murdered in Guatemala by either drug cartels or security officials. (February 19, 2007)

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 36 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 25 Votes: 80.0% Annoying