Information on recruitment practices of Salvadoran death squads is scarce among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, please find attached the testimony of death squads defectors taken from a 1988 Amnesty International report which indicates that both voluntary and forceful recruitment were practiced by death squad leaders during the civil war (AI, 15-18).

Please note that the articles attached suggest the establishment of a new type of death squad in 1994 and 1995: "unlike the ultraright ideology of the death squads that began operation in the 1970s, the new ones do not publicly espouse specific political agendas" (NotiSur 4 Aug. 1995).

Three new death squads, Nueva Mano Blanca, Commando Ejecutivo Antidelincuencial Transitorio (CEAT) and Sombra Negra or Black Shadow, the best known of the three, have emerged as the main groups currently active in El Salvador (ibid.).

Although they specialize in targetting common criminals and gang members as part of their "social cleansing" strategy, these new death squads have also threatened union organizers, ex-combatants in the civil war, "corrupt" government officials, judges and reporters (ibid.).

One attached article refers to the arrest of 14 alleged members of the Black Shadow death squad, including four policemen, two prominent businessmen and an evangelical pastor. They were charged with aggravated homicide (The Washington Post, 30 July 1995).

No information is currently available to the DIRB concerning specific recruitment practices of these new death squads.

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

Amnesty International (AI). October 1988. El Salvador: 'Death Squads' A Government Strategy. AI Index: AMR 29/21/88. London: AI.

NotiSur. 4 August 1995. "El Salvador: Police Arrest 16 Suspected Members of "Sombra Negra" Death Squad". (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 30 July 1995. Douglas Farah. "High-Level Arrest Marks Savadoran Death Squad Probe" (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 24 July-7 Aug. 1995, Vol. 10, No. 13)

Attachments

Amnesty International (AI). October 1988. El Salvador: 'Death Squads' A Government Strategy. AI Index: AMR 29/21/88, London: AI, pp. 15-18.

Central America Report. 19 May 1995. Vol. 22, No. 18. "El Salvador: The Shadow of Death Squads Returns," pp. 1-3.

The Houston Chronicle. 20 May 1995. Marcos Aleman. "New Death Squads Targeting Criminals." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 15-28 May 1995, Vol. 10, No. 8, p. 3)

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Resource Information Center. August 1994. Information Packet Series: El Salvador: Stalled Implementation of the Peace Accords and Re-Emergence of Death Squads. Washington, DC: United States INS Resource Information Center, pp. 1-67.

InterPress Service (IPS). 27 April 1995. Juan José Dalton. "Vigilante Groups Help Step-Up the Violence" (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 17-30 April 1995, Vol. 10, No. 6, p. 3)

The Los Angeles Times. 27 June 1995. Juanita Darling. "The War on 'Disposable People'" (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 26 June-9 July 1995, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp. 2-3)

NotiSur. 4 August 1995. "El Salvador: Police Arrest 16 Suspected Members of "Sombra Negra" Death Squad". (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 30 July 1995. Douglas Farah. "High-Level Arrest Marks Savadoran Death Squads Probe" (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 24 Jul.-7 Aug. 1995, Vol. 10, No. 13, pp. 2-3)