The deaths of Fortin Coronado.

• Author: Bencastro, Mario

The confusion that the disappearance of Fortin Coronado has generated is truly incredible. The newspapers publish extensive articles about the possible reasons for his death, more preposterous than yesterday's and surely less bold and complicated than tomorrow's.

They swear that a lover poisoned him out of jealousy.

They report that he was an agent of the intelligence service and that the insurgent forces executed him.

From Plan de la Laguna, someone writes that he cultivated hallucinogenic mushrooms for export, that he became intoxicated and that his corpse was found "hard as a rock."

In the neighborhood the rumor is that Fortin Coronado was the owner of "The Little Panties," and that a young girl he had kidnapped from her parents in San Juan Nonualco and initiated in prostitution, disillusioned, stabbed him to death.

Others testify that he belonged to a clandestine organization and that he was mortally wounded in battle.

A well-known politician who holds a high position in the government, on the other hand, declared in a press conference:

"Fortin Coronado was my trusted friend. Those who slander me possibly assassinated him in order to accuse me of his death, since they constantly seek excuses to dirty my spotless reputation as chief guardian of the sacred public interest."

My grandmother, never one to be left out of these matters of national interest, says...