El Salvador: Information on the structure of the National Police before and after the peace agreements
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV17843.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on the structure of the National Police before and after the peace agreements, 1 July 1994, SLV17843.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abb484.html [accessed 21 May 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. |
Please find attached some documents that provide information on the structure of the National Police. In addition to the attached, the office of the Military Attaché of El Salvador in Washington, DC, stated that the National Police is now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior,and no longer under the Ministry of Defense (13 July 1994). The source added that the new National Civilian Police, which is assisting and gradually replacing the National Police, does not have a defined structure yet.
The attached excerpt from a report by the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador states that after the peace agreements, and because of the shortage of policemen in the face of growing crime, the government transferred "large numbers of personnel" from the disbanded National Guard and Treasury Police to the National Police force (26 May 1992, 8).
On 1 September 1993 the president of El Salvador announced the creation of a 200-strong special anti-crime unit of the National Police to counter the increase in violent crime (Central America Report 17 Sept. 1993). More recently, on 2 July 1994 the new president, Armando Calderón, "ordered the dismissal of 600 of the 800 members of the national police force's criminal investigations sectionafter evidence was unearthed proving their connections with organised crime" (Latin American Weekly Report 14 July 1994, 12).
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.
References
Central America Report [Guatemala]. 17 September 1993. "And More Police."
Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 14 July 1994. "El Salvador: Police Disbanded."
Office of the Military Attaché. 13 July 1994. Telephone interview with representative.
Attachments
Andrade, John. 1985. World Police and Paramilitary Forces. New York: Stockton Press, p. 61.
Central America Report [Guatemala]. 17 September 1993. "And More Police."
El Salvador Update: Counterterrorism in Action. 1987. Los Angeles, Calif.: El Rescate Human Rights Department, pp. 8-9, 13-15, 18-19.
Ingleton, Roy D. 1979. Police of the World. London: Ian Allan Ltd., p. 68.
Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 14 July 1994. "El Salvador: Police Disbanded."
United Nations Security Council. 26 May 1992. (S/23999). Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador, p. 8.
