Salvadoran magazine GatoEncerrado reported in a statement posted to the social network X that police officers went to the home of the mother of one of its editors after the publication of an article alleging the existence of a group of hitmen inside the National Civil Police.
According to the magazine, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, police officers twice visited the home of the mother of the magazine's editor, Ricardo Vaquerano, in Santa Ana, in western El Salvador. On the first visit, in the morning, the police said they had received an emergency call about alleged domestic violence. They asked for the identification of one of Vaquerano's family members who was present, photographed him and questioned the journalist's mother. Hours later, the police returned and remained in front of the house.
“This type of irregular police procedures worries us, as it occurs eight days after GatoEncerrado published an investigation that shows the actions of a group of hired killers within the National Civil Police, who together with civilians and businessmen, murdered hundreds of people for hire,” GatoEncerrado wrote. “We are more concerned because our investigations and reports from civil society have shown that prior to a legal action, corrupt agents often carry out irregular procedures such as the one we denounced. These events occur in the context of a regime of exception, which has been used by the Salvadoran government to intimidate and silence dissident voices.”
