Consul Reports Receiving Death Squad-Style Threat

In another apparent Salvadoran death squad-style incident in Los Angeles, the Guatemalan Consulate has received a letter purporting to be from the Escuadron de la Muerte (Squadron of Death), it was learned Wednesday.

The consul general of Guatemala, Leslie Mishaan Rossell, said Wednesday that the letter was addressed to the consular offices, not to an individual, and that it was turned over to police after it arrived last Thursday. She declined further comment.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Cmdr. William Booth said the letter was “very similar” to one received July 15 by Father Luis Olivares of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church at Olvera Street.

Both letters contained the block initials “E. M.” and a No. 1 below, he said. The letter to the Guatemalan Consulate also contained a sentence in Spanish warning, “Don’t get involved in the affairs of the Salvadorans.”

The letter is the latest in a series of written and telephoned threats to Central Americans and other activists in the Los Angeles area. So far, about 30 names have appeared on written or telephoned death lists.

The incidents came to public attention after a Salvadoran activist was abducted July 7 outside the downtown office of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. The woman, known by her first name of Yanira, was also molested during what she said was a political interrogation and torture.

On July 17, a Guatemalan activist reported that she had been abducted by two men who did not physically harm her, but warned her to stop associating with Salvadorans.

The FBI announced July 17 that it is investigating the possibility of “terrorist activity” in Los Angeles. The LAPD has several separate investigations into the incidents.