National Guard

The National Guard was the national gendarmerie of El Salvador. The National Guard of El Salvador was founded in 1912 by President Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo as a branch of the Salvadoran Army for policing rural areas. The National Guard was reorganized into a separate civilian force based on the Spanish Civil Guard, and served with distinction during the Football War. The National Guard developed a reputation for police brutality and human rights abuses in El Salvador, and was disbanded on 16 January 1992 as part of the Chapultepec Peace Accords to end the Salvadoran Civil War. History Owing to increased demands for higher wages by coffee pickers in rural areas, Salvadoran land owners in the countryside felt the need to create a special public security force to protect their interests. Previous law enforcement and task force efforts failed to yield satisfactory results. The task forces were patrolling soldiers, commanded by an army officer, scattered throughout the country. They were unprepared in the fight against crime in its various guises, and were thus incapable of stopping thefts, killings, rapes and so on. Criminals of that era were using topographical features to hide from the authorities. This was the primary reason that prompted the President of the Republic Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, to create the National Guard. A corps made up of specially trained men with modern equipment and uniformed appropriately for the type of coffee plantations where they were going to act was needed. Furthermore, it was legally constituted to support its actions and proceedings against the offenders to extend the scope of justice to the most remote areas.