Editing Salvador (film) (section)

==Plot==
Veteran photojournalist Richard Boyle, whose career has been derailed by substance abuse and arrogance, finds himself broke and abandoned by his wife. Desperate for work, he convinces his friend Doctor Rock, an unemployed disc jockey, to join him on a trip to [[El Salvador]], where he hopes to cover the country’s civil war as a freelancer. Upon arrival, they witness the violent suppression of student protests and are briefly detained by the military, only spared after Boyle invokes an old connection to right-wing Colonel Figueroa. They learn that the far-right [[ARENA Party of El Salvador|ARENA party]], backed by the United States, now controls the country.

Boyle reconnects with fellow photojournalist John Cassady, as well as his old friend, Catholic aid worker Cathy Moore. He begins documenting the regime’s atrocities, including mass graves and disappearances. He also reunites with his former lover María, and they rekindle their relationship, while Rock befriends María's fifteen-year-old brother, Carlos.

After Carlos loudly makes fun of Major Max, an ARENA leader, at a restaurant, he is abducted by local authorities. Boyle’s appeals to the American embassy to intervene are rejected, and he and María personally witness the [[Óscar Romero|assassination of Archbishop Romero]] during mass. Shortly after, Carlos is found murdered. As government forces crack down even harder, Cathy and three American nuns are raped and executed by soldiers. That atrocity shocks the U.S. ambassador, who vows to finally withdraw support for ARENA, though he is ultimately blocked from doing so.

As rebels overrun the government forces in Santa Ana, Boyle witnesses them execute captured soldiers with the same cruelty the military had previously shown them, which greatly disgusts him. The Salvadoran Army starts using American supplies to combat the rebels and Boyle's friend and fellow photojournalist, Cassady, is killed in the crossfire. Boyle, Rock, María, and her two young children attempt to flee the country using forged papers, but are caught. Just as Boyle is about to be executed, a last-minute call from the ambassador spares his life.

Boyle, María and her children finally arrive in the United States. Happy and relieved, they board a bus and discuss their future. However, the bus is suddenly pulled over on a California highway. [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] officials board and forcibly remove María and her children. An angry Boyle tries to intervene, yelling that María and the children will be killed if they're returned to El Salvador. The officials physically restrain Boyle and, as he's being arrested for his resistance, he watches in silent despair as María and the children are driven away.