El Salvador: Information on Death Squad activity in police or Armed Forces
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV24386.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on Death Squad activity in police or Armed Forces, 1 June 1996, SLV24386.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac3c38.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. |
For information on the current status of death squad activities in police and armed forces units, please consult the Responses to Information Requests SLV24021.E of 7 June 1996, SLV23843.E of 10 May 1996, SLV23532.E of 10 April 1996, SLV23l4l.E of 13 March 1996, and SLV23284.E of 11 March 1996 and their Attachments. For background information on the re-emergence of death squads after the 1992 peace accord, please refer to the Responses to Information Requests SLV16784.E of 21 March 1994 and SLV13283.E of 26 February 1993 and their Attachments.
Response to information Request SLV24021 .F provides information on the Black Shadow (Somhra Negra) and the White Hand (Nueva Mano Blanca) death squads in El Salvador; policemen have been linked to both groups. SLV23141.E touches upon the recruitment practices and the police and armed forces alleged involvement in the new White Hand death squad. SLV23284.E outlines the activities of the Black Shadow and the Associated Press Attachment of 27 July 1995 states that four policemen are suspected of belonging to the squad, including the deputy police chief in San Miguel.
Attached to SLV23843.E is a 6 August 1995 excerpt from Central American Report which discusses the three phases of death squad terror after the signing of the peace accord in 1992. SLV13283.E describes death squad activities a year after the 1992 agreement was signed. SLV16784.E summarizes current reports on the government's response to the resurgence of death squad activity. This response notes that death squads are believed to be affiliated with hard-line sectors of the military and the ruling party. SLV23532.E deals with paramilitary groups and their association with conservative members of Salvadoran Society.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
