An April 1989 report [ "Salvador Army Fills Ranks by Force", in The New York Times, 21 April 1989, p. A3.] states a conscript reported the pay for a conscript to be the equivalent of US$80 a month. A more recent article [ "El Salvador's Army: A Force Unto Itself", in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, 10 December 1989, p. 95.] indicates the pay for regular soldiers is 500 Colones (approximately US$100, according to the report) a month. This source states that many soldiers have to pay compulsory discounts ("descuentos obligatorios"), which cover the cost of basic needs which may include food, toothpaste and clothes, and are sometimes ordered to buy certain things. [ Ibid.] The Washington, D.C., office of Americas Watch stated that the information contained in the latter source is the latest available to them, not having on this date any report that contradicts the article's information on the requested subject. Information on cases in which soldiers do not get paid or other corroborating sources for the above information could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.