Juan Romagoza: arrived to the US undocumented but became a community leader in DC now back in El Salvador

He crossed the border and entered the US illegally escaping torture and violence during a civil war in El Salvador -which was financed by then US president Ronald Reagan. Eventually Juan Romagoza became a US citizen and he dedicated his life to work in behalf of the immigrant community in Washington, DC, for over twenty five years.

Photo by Centroamerica 21

Upon his arrival to DC, Juan Romagoza, MD, founded La Clinica del Pueblo, a community clinic oriented to provide free health care and social programs to immigrants in Washington, DC, regardless of their legal status. LCDP has received strong support from the DC community, government officials and private donors, including a new building in Columbia Heights, but recently it faced economic hardship after years of successful management.

After years of community work, Juan Romagoza left La Clinica in February 2008 and returned to El Salvador. Now back in his homeland, Dr. Romagoza has founded more community clinics for the poor – especially Native rural populations- and a housing program for people living with HIV.

I met doctor Romagoza a couple of days ago, while walking by El Parque de las Palomas. This video shows our brief conversation where he expresses support for change in the upcoming elections in El Salvador.

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Turning violence into peace and solidarity

In 1981 Romagoza was tortured for 22 days by the Salvadoran national police and the ruling political party. His wife was murdered. After being secretly freed, he was smuggled to Guatemala, Mexico and eventually he came to the US undocumented. Ever since his arrival to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, Romagoza has been working for the immigrant community, especially for the refugees of the Central American civil wars.

In 2002 Romagoza won a lawsuit in Florida against his torturers -who also live in the US- but the accused declared themselves in bankruptcy. However, one them the former Defense Minister of El Salvador has been now accused of passport fraud and will be deported.

The ARENA political party-ruling El Salvador since the civil war- is expected to be defeated in the upcoming March 15 elections, with polls showing a 17 points advantage for the FMLN party, the former guerrilla group which Romagoza was accused of being part of.

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