To “socially cleanse” El Salvador of criminals and gang members
Major actions
Murder, torture, kidnapping
Size
Unknown
Allies
Far-right paramilitaries
Opponents
El Salvador Mara Salvatrucha 18th Street Gang FMLN
Battles and wars
Salvadoran Civil War
The Sombra Negra (Spanish for "Black Shadow"), also known as El Clan de Planta ("The Plant Clan"), are (as of 2014)[1] death squad groups based in El Salvador, allegedly composed mostly of police and military personnel, that target criminals and gang members for vigilante justice.[2] The name first appeared around December 1989 in the Department of San Miguel. By April 1995, the group had stated that it had killed seventeen persons, claiming that those killed were criminals or members of gangs.[3] These vigilante groups are based in El Salvador. The government of El Salvador insists the groups are not under its control.
Sombra Negra members typically blindfolded and tied the hands and/or thumbs of their victims behind their backs.[3] Several hours of torture would follow, often including the removal of the genitalia, hands, tongue, rectum and teeth.[citation needed] Finally, the victims were given tiros de gracia, or shots of grace, meaning they were shot in the base of their skulls with assault rifles and machine guns at close range. Messages were written on the victim's body such as "El idiota sufrió una muerte lenta" ("this idiot suffered a slow death") and other insults or gang-related slang. The Sombra Negra operatives would conceal their face and body with bandanas, anthropomorphic costumes, and use unlicensed vehicles with darkened windows when they carried out their missions in order to avoid full detection. Sombra Negra stated that it killed people because the group believed that the police could not enforce laws of El Salvador and that it is waging a campaign of “social cleansing” against gangs.[1][3]
^ ab"Has Gang Violence in El Salvador Sparked a Death Squad Revival?". Insightcrime.org. 4 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
^"'Black Shadow' vigilante group creates new climate of fear in El Salvador". The Baltimore Sun. Chicago Tribune. 25 May 1995. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
^ abc"Question and Answer Series – El Salvador: Re-emergence Of "Social Cleansing" Death Squads – USCIS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009..
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Global Information
El Salvador
FMLN