Salvadorans March to Protest Arrest of 16 Called Vigilantes

Protesters in El Salvador marched through the streets Monday to speak out against the arrests last week of 16 men accused of belonging to a vigilante group that has killed street gang members and threatened lawyers, judges and politicians.

Four police, a Protestant minister and a prominent merchant were among those arrested Thursday in San Miguel--about 80 miles from the capital, San Salvador--by the National Civilian Police. All have denied that they are members of the vigilante group known as Sombra Negra, or Black Shadow, which has claimed responsibility for the murders of two dozen gang members.

Further arrests are anticipated as a special unit continues its investigation into possible involvement of the Public Security Ministry and high-ranking police officials in the vigilante activities, sources close to the case said.

“The arrests are disturbing because they suggest the involvement of police,” said George Vickers, executive director of the Washington Office on Latin America, an American think tank. “On the other hand, there has been some real serious investigation here. While there are some high-level individuals involved, it is individuals rather than institutions.”

That is a relief for those who feared a return to the days of “death squads,” when gunmen killed government critics with impunity.

Sombra Negra is the most prominent of several vigilante groups that appeared this year in response to police inability to stop growing crime by organized street gangs. The three main Salvadoran gangs are offshoots of Los Angeles groups, mainly organized by young men who return after being deported from the United States as undesirables.

Diego Aleman of The Times’ Mexico City Bureau contributed to this report.