El Salvador: Resurgence of death squads in El Salvador since the March 1989 elections
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV0743 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Resurgence of death squads in El Salvador since the March 1989 elections, 1 May 1989, SLV0743, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac5a18.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The recent resurgence in activities of death squads in El Salvador occurred after a major offensive launched by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrilla group in October 1988. In December 1988, a new death squad, Acción Revolucionaria de Exterminación (Arde), emerged. ["Back to early-80s terror tactics", Latin American Weekly Report, 12 January 1989, p. 5. (attached).] Arde published a communiqué which included a list of targets for assassination. On the list were FMLN leaders, political candidates of the Convergencia Democrática (intending to contest the March elections), and other people such as the president of the University of El Salvador. [Ibid.] Arde advocates the use of force to counter the FMLN. ["El Salvador: New right-wing terror group", Latin American Regional Reports: Mexico and Central America, 12 January 1989.]
Another new "anti-communist" group, the Democratic Defense Commandos (Comandos de la Defensa Democratica), had emerged by March 1989. [Foreign Broadcast International Service, "New Clandestine Group Threatens FMLN-FDR", Daily Report: Latin America, 20 March 1989, p. 16. (attached) ] This group promised to answer all assassinations by the FMLN with "sabotage actions against the offices of groups affiliated with the National Union of Salvadoran Workers, the National University, and against the homes of FMLN allies." [Foreign Broadcast Information Service, "New Clandestine Group Threatens FMLN-FDR," Daily Report: Latin American Report, 20 March 1989, p. 16.]
