El Salvador: Information on an organization called "Escuadron de la Muerte" whose goals are to seek out and kill army deserters, thieves and drug dealers, 1995-96
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV25639.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on an organization called "Escuadron de la Muerte" whose goals are to seek out and kill army deserters, thieves and drug dealers, 1995-96, 1 December 1996, SLV25639.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aca718.html [accessed 17 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. |
Information on a group or oganization called "Escuadron de la Muerte" could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. Please note that the term escuadron de la muerte is the Spanish equivalent of "death squad." Information on death squads in El Salvador in 1995 and 1996 can be found in Responses to Information Requests SLV23141.E of 13 March 1996 and SLV23284.E of 11 March 1996, both available with their attachments at your Regional Documentation Centre. More recent reports on death squad activity in El Salvador and 1995 articles not included in those Responses can be found attached to this Response and in the DIRB Indexed Media Review (IMR). The attached documents report the emergence of these death squads amid a sharp increase of violent crime in the streets of El Salvador; although threats were voiced by these groups against a variety of figures, the attached reports report attacks only against suspected criminals and gang members. Please note that one of the alleged "death squads," FURODA, is not reported among the sources consulted to have actually attacked anyone, nor is it known who issued threats under that name or whether it is actually a group of persons. Please consult the attachments for details on the subject.
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.
Attachments
El Salvador Watch [New York]. September 1996. No. 52. "Under Threat of Death." [Internet]
Inter Press Service (IPS). 15 November 1996. Juan Jose Dalton. "The Ideology of Fear." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.], 11-24 Nov. 1996, Vol. 11, No. 21, pp. 2-3)
_____. 28 July 1996. Juan Jose Dalton. "Death Squad Threatens San Pablo Forum." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.], 22 July-4 Aug. 1996, Vol. 11, No. 13, p. 3)
_____. 30 June 1996. Juan Jose Dalton. "Specter of Terrorism Reawakens." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.], 24 June-7 July 1996, Vol. 11, No. 11, p. 3)
Latin America Weekly Report [London]. 8 June 1995. "The Vigilante Response." (NEXIS)
Latin American Regional Reports: Caribbean [London]. 22 June 1995. "Death Squads Reappear." (NEXIS)
Sun-Sentinel [Fort Lauderdale]. 20 July 1995. Final Edition. Ray Sanchez. "Death Squads Target El Salvador Gangs." (NEXIS)
The Washington Post. 13 October 1996. Douglas Farah. "Death Squads Flex Muscle Again; El Salvador's Government Unable to Uproot Paramilitary Groups." (NEXIS)
