El Salvador: Whether the National Civilian Police (Policía Nacional Civil, PNC) would deny protection to supporters of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, ARENA) for political reasons, and whether the PNC is mainly composed of former guerrillas or members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí de Liberación Nacional, FMLN)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 14 April 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV40956.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Whether the National Civilian Police (Policía Nacional Civil, PNC) would deny protection to supporters of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, ARENA) for political reasons, and whether the PNC is mainly composed of former guerrillas or members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí de Liberación Nacional, FMLN), 14 April 2003, SLV40956.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4e1d1c.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. |
SLV41201.E of 6 February 2003 and SLV40954.E of 14 April 2003 provide information on police protection available to political activists, as well as the arrest of persons accused of attacks against political activists, in the context of the electoral campaign leading to the 16 March 2003 elections.
Recent references to a particular political configuration of the National Civilian Police (Policía Nacional Civil, PNC) could not be found among the sources consulted. However, information on political appointments and recruitment in the police force can be found in SLV38413.E of 25 March 2002 and the April 1998 Research Directorate Issue Paper El Salvador: The National Civilian Police (PNC), available in all Regional Documentation Centres. One of the most recent reports on the PNC found among the sources consulted refers to the force's inability to deal with the high levels of crime and violence affecting El Salvador (Le Monde Diplomatique Mar. 2002). The report refers to the PNC's 17,000 members as insufficient, adding that 1,500 of its members were purged from the ranks in 2000, a year in which 1,680 complaints for a variety of common crimes were made against the force (ibid.). A metropolitan police force (CAM), [translation] "known by the right wing as the 'red army' of the municipality," has taken an increasing role in prevention and deterrence of crime in the capital city (ibid.). However, the CAM is reportedly composed mostly of individuals who did not participate in the armed conflict that ended in 1992 (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Le Monde Diplomatique [Paris]. March 2002. Karim Bourtel. "Révolutionnaires et/ou gestionnaires – Quand l'ex guérilla gouverne la capitale du Salvador."
Additional Sources Consulted
Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Jan.-Apr. 2003
IRB Databases
Latin American Weekly Report [London]. Jan.-Apr. 2003
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Jan.-Apr. 2003
Internet sites and search engines, including:
Amensty International
El Diario de Hoy/El Salvador.com [San Salvador]. Apr. 2003. "Elecciones 2003"
Human Rights Watch
La Prensa Gráfica [San Salvador]. Apr. 2003. "Diputados y Alcaldes – Elecciones 2003"
