El Salvador: Vengeance against the families of opponents to the guerrillas
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV0892 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Vengeance against the families of opponents to the guerrillas, 1 May 1989, SLV0892, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab378b.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. |
There has been several notable instances of the rebel forces in El Salvador, known by their Spanish acronym FMLN, of attacking homes of their opponents, both military and political. In Early January 1989 the urban commandos announced that all houses belonging to military officials would be treated as military targets. [ El Rescate Human Rights Department, El Salvador Chronology, Vol. IV No. 1 January 1989, (Los Angeles: El Rescate Publications, 1989), pp. 10-11.]
The FMLN have had a constant campaign against the municipal officials in rural El Salvador which has killed 8 mayors since October 1988 and has resulted in over 40 mayors quitting their jobs after threats from the FMLN. [ Latin America Newsletter LTD, Latin American Regional Report, Mexico & Central America report, Feb. 16, 1989, (London: 1989), p. 8.] This campaign has included attacks on mayors' homes, such as the grenade attack on the home of a municipal government member in Santiago Nonualco, La Paz, causing damages, but no injuries. [ El Rescate Human Rights Department, El Salvador Chronology, Vol. IV No. 1 January 1989, (Los Angeles: El Rescate Publications, 1989), p. 12.] Homes of top officials have also been targeted, including a bomb attack on the house of the vice-president elect Fransico Merino. [ "Bombs damage home of Salvadorian officials", The Globe and Mail, 15 April 1989, p. A4.]
