Apparently, there was a fifteen minute armed confrontation between an armed group and the security forces which ended with the arrest of five people. The five had an AK-47, military backpacks, bomb making materials, night vision goggles and revolutionary propaganda. Some wore black outfits and others military (type) uniforms.
David Munguía Payés, El Salvador's Minister of Justice and Security, confirmed that they had detected an "irregular armed group or the revolutionary type"
in Sesori, San Miguel and that they have knowledge of at least four
other groups operating in the northern parts of the country..
The group calls itself the "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Populares 22 de Enero" (Revolutionary People's Armed Forces January 22). Their flag is yellow and red and the date January 22nd refers to the indigenous and peasant uprising of 1932 that resulted in La Matanza (the Great Killing).
One of those captured was former guerrilla Fredis Isabel Garcia Guevara. It looks like some of the others were former guerrillas or were somehow connected to the guerrillas. Given their ages of 7 and 17 at the time of the Peace Accords, however, I'm not really sure what to think of their involvement.
The group calls itself the "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Populares 22 de Enero" (Revolutionary People's Armed Forces January 22). Their flag is yellow and red and the date January 22nd refers to the indigenous and peasant uprising of 1932 that resulted in La Matanza (the Great Killing).
One of those captured was former guerrilla Fredis Isabel Garcia Guevara. It looks like some of the others were former guerrillas or were somehow connected to the guerrillas. Given their ages of 7 and 17 at the time of the Peace Accords, however, I'm not really sure what to think of their involvement.
Authorities aren't saying or don't know whether they have any
connections to the political party made up of former guerrillas, the
FMLN. Authorities also believe that there are at least another ten
members of this cell/group at-large.
If you remember, prior to the creation of the FMLN, guerrillas raised money by kidnapping members of wealthy families, extorting businessmen, and robbing banks and other institutions. All of this took place in the early 1970s up until full-scale armed confrontation broke out in 1980/1981.
Salvadoran authorities haven't commented on the revolutionary nature of the propaganda from what I can tell.
Stay tuned.
"They are an armed organization for criminal purposes, but also in the future think of other questions of another kind," said Mendoza, who did not rule out that some people interested in generating more violence may be funding these illegal groups.The early information is still sketchy, but Salvadoran authorities are leaning towards the hypothesis that the group is "an incipient guerrilla." Right now they are involved in kidnappings, extortion and other revenue generating crimes, but they might be interested in something more political.
If you remember, prior to the creation of the FMLN, guerrillas raised money by kidnapping members of wealthy families, extorting businessmen, and robbing banks and other institutions. All of this took place in the early 1970s up until full-scale armed confrontation broke out in 1980/1981.
Salvadoran authorities haven't commented on the revolutionary nature of the propaganda from what I can tell.
Stay tuned.
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