HomeNewsBriefEl Salvador Prosecutor Charges Police in Extrajudicial Executions
BRIEF

El Salvador Prosecutor Charges Police in Extrajudicial Executions

EL SALVADOR / 11 JUL 2016 BY MIKE LASUSA EN

El Salvador’s attorney general has accused several police officers of participating in a high-profile case of extrajudicial killings, signaling a desire to reign in heavy-handed anti-gang tactics that have been linked to increases in violence and human rights abuses.

In a July 8 press conference, Attorney General Douglas Meléndez announced that his office had ordered the arrest of seven members of the national police in connection with the March 26, 2015, killing of eight people at the San Blas farm in San Jose Villanueva.

Meléndez also said that a total of 22 suspects, including police officers and business owners, had been ordered detained on charges that they belonged to a criminal structure that carried out murders for hire.

“I said it a few days ago. We cannot allow our country to turn into the Wild West,” Melendez said, referencing earlier comments. “This case is a demonstration of that, where we have indications that there were summary executions of people who did not even have a criminal record.”

The police stood by their version that eight members of a “criminal structure” were killed at San Blas in a shootout with officers. National Civil Police Director Howard Cotto also held a press conference on July 8, telling reporters “we are absolutely sure that we acted within the framework of the law.”

However, an investigation published last year by the news outlet El Faro concluded “that those killed were summarily executed and arranged to appear as if they died in a shootout.” More recently, El Salvador’s inspector general for human rights came to similar conclusions.

InSight Crime Analysis

The arrest orders, combined with Meléndez’s statements, strongly suggest that the attorney general is attempting to send a message that police must act lawfully when carrying out operations against the country’s powerful gangs. Other government officials have supported aggressive police tactics. Vice President Óscar Ortiz said last year that police who feel threatened should use deadly force against gang members “without any fear of suffering consequences.”

Meléndez’s office has brought charges against officials suspected of collaborating with the country’s powerful gangs, including mayors and political figures linked to a controversial, government-brokered 2012 truce. The charges in the San Blas case signal that his office will not turn a blind eye to misconduct on the part of the police.

SEE ALSO: El Salvador News and Profiles

It remains to be seen, however, whether the attorney general’s actions will lead to a change in policing policies. The Salvadoran government appears to be committed to continuing its “iron fist” approach to the gangs, despite the fact that a majority of citizens believe that the “extraordinary measures” have shown poor results thus far.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BARRIO 18 / 28 MAR 2022

A killing spree unlike anything seen since El Salvador’s civil war has delivered a macabre message from the country’s street…

BRAZIL / 2 NOV 2021

Counterfeit cigarettes may appear harmless, but the illicit tobacco trade often spurs other criminal activities – with the latest case…

HUMAN RIGHTS / 30 AUG 2023

Human trafficking is one of the most complex and misunderstood criminal economies in the world. This is especially true along…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…