[1] The main purpose of ANIS was to preserve the culture, customs and language of El Salvador's indigenous groups, including the Lenca, Maya and Nahua.
[1] Through Esquino Lisco's work, ANIS finally won legal recognition from the Salvadoran government of President José Napoleón Duarte in 1980.
[1] Adrian Esquino Lisco first appeared in international news coverage of the civil war when he began calling attention to the February 23, 1983 Salvadoran army-led attack on an indigenous farm cooperative in Las Hojas, El Salvador.
[1] An El Salvadoran federal human rights commission, charged with investigating the Las Hojas massacre and other violations, did not accomplish much, reportedly because of pressure from the country's army.
"[1] Lisco later told The New York Times that, "I asked the army high command how guerrillas could die with their hands tied behind their backs.
According to Francisco Acosta, a Salvadoran activist based in Maryland, Lisco's lobbying of Congress led to the release of more than 100 political prisoners from government custody.