Pro-Government Militias
Death Squads (El Salvador)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 356 |
| Country: | El Salvador |
| Date formed: | Oct. 15, 1979 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | After the 1979 coup, the paramilitary death squads of the previous military regime, including the various security services - The National Guard, Treasury Police and National Police - remained intact under the control of high level officials in the Civilian-military Junta's army and continued to target leftist sympathisers and civilians during the civil war. |
| Date dissolved: | June 1, 2009 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | decade |
| Details of Termination: | Following the 1992 peace deal a civilian police force replaced the paramilitary security services linked to death squads, which were then disbanded. A 1994 UN report notes death squad activities after 1992 but they became increasingly decentralised and focused on organised crime. The 2009 election and the end of ARENAS’ control of the presidency, mark a definite end-point for any government support of death squads. Newly formed death squads do not appear to be connected to the government. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | unclear | Main Creating Government Institution: | unclear |
| Government Link(s): | political party; state (institution); military (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | ARENA |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): | Groups of exiled Salvadorians living in Miami allegedly financed and indirectly helped run death squads. |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ideology; security forces; ex soldiers |
| Primary Membership: | noncivilian |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | nationwide |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; religious group; students |
| Purpose(s): | intimidation of civilians; intimidate political opposition; fight insurgents |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The Commission on the Truth, set up to investigate the death squads after the peace deal in 1992, identified two groups of death squads during the war ...Possible names used by the death squads include the Secret Anti-Communist Army, the General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez Anti-Communist Brigade the Salvadoran National Command. Other sources note interconnectedness of death squads - so conservatively included as one group. Whether the death squads were created by the government is coded as unclear seeing that while some groups were created within the government and were composed by security forces, other groups were made up by civilians and were less directly linked to the government. These groups were also, however, supported and sponsored by the government. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | Government death squads were mainly used for the suppression and elimination of political opponents. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Death squads committed a significant amount of violence against civilians (particularly political opponents), such as killings, assassinations, sexual violence, abductions, disappearances, executions and torture. According to reports, the government consciously ignored and tolerated these acts, although it was aware of the death squads’ actions. It has been stated that state authorities encouraged violence by death squads. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | Members appear to have been active in the state military and the army prior to their activities in the death squads, therefore their training was provided by the state itself. It is not clear what types of weapons were used, but deaths squads were reported to have been heavily armed. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | While there is no information on the internal organization of the death squads, it has been speculated that their network is composed of small groups that may or may not be connected. They were closely tied to the government and it has been stated that officials gave orders, e.g. to have particular individuals assassinated, and that death squads were controlled by the executive’s office of intelligence, took orders from the army and were linked to the security service. It has been the topic of debate just how direct and strong the links to top officials are, but most sources assume direct links. One report suggests a large overlap between the armed forces and death squads. According to news sources, death squads were also linked to the political party Arena. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.