El Salvador: Activities and mandate of the State Intelligence Organization (Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado, OIE); whether it continues to operate (1992-March 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 25 March 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV38413.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Activities and mandate of the State Intelligence Organization (Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado, OIE); whether it continues to operate (1992-March 2002), 25 March 2002, SLV38413.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4beac4.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Under the terms of the April 1992 peace accord between state authorities and the Farabundo Martí Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN), the National Intelligence Directorate (Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia, DNI), controlled by the military, was to be dissolved and replaced by a new civilian agency known as the State Intelligence Organization (Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado, OIE) (La Nación 15 Sept. 2001; El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001a; Baranyi and North Sept. 1996). The OIE, created by means of an executive decree issued by then President Alfredo Cristiani, officially replaced the DNI on 12 June 1992 (La Nación 15 Sept. 2001; Baranyi and North Sept. 1996).
Mandated to operate within democratic principles, to respect human rights, and to view state intelligence as a common good (El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001a), the OIE was to be "staffed and trained in accordance with the objectives of national reconciliation" (Baranyi and North Sept. 1996). In a 15 September 2001 report, the San Salvador newspaper El Diario de Hoy claimed that "many" former FMLN guerrillas were hired to work for the OIE (15 Sept. 2001a). The report also claimed that while former DNI staff who wished to join the new organization were to be subjected to a "rigorous evaluation of their background, skills and aptitude" (rigurosa evaluación de sus antecedentes, capacidades y aptitudes), many were in fact hired without undergoing this process (ibid.).
President Cristiani appointed Mauricio Sandoval as the OIE's first director (ibid.). He remained in this position until 1999, when he was named director general of the National Civilian Police (Policía Nacional Civil, PNC) (ibid.; El País 31 May 1999; La Prensa Gráfica 2 June 1999). Sandoval was replaced by Flavio Villacorta, who remained director of the OIE as recently as September 2001 (ibid.; El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001a).
On 14 September 2001, the Supreme Court declared that President Cristiani had violated the terms of the constitution when he established the OIE, arguing that while the law grants the president jurisdiction over the intelligence agency, only the Legislative Assembly has the power to create such a body (La Nación 15 Sept. 2001; El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001b). As a result of this ruling, the OIE ceased officially to exist until its status was regularized later the same month (La Opinión 28 Sept. 2001), after the Legislative Assembly approved the State Intelligence Organization Law (Ley del Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado) on 20 September 2001 (La Nación 22 Sept. 2001; El Diario de Hoy 22 Sept. 2001).
Information on the OIE's activities and operating principles were scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to newspaper reports, the organization's headquarters are located in the presidential palace (ibid. 9 June 2000; Público 19 June 2000), and only the president is privy to its activities and findings (El Diario de Hoy 20 Sept. 2001; CAR 2 July 1999). Furthermore, in September 2001 Mauricio Sandoval was cited as saying that OIE personnel do not carry weapons nor are they empowered to conduct judicial investigations (El Diario de Hoy 12 Sept. 2000).
However, despite Sandoval's assertions, OIE personnel allegedly conducted an initial investigation of the 1999 killing of Katya Miranda (La Prensa Gr áfica 26 Nov. 1999; CIS Update 1 Oct.-10 Dec. 1999), whose father served in the president's security detachment and whose uncle was a "high ranking member of the PNC Criminal Investigations Division" (ibid.). The OIE subsequently denied any participation in such an investigation (ibid.), with President Francisco Flores claiming that its involvement was limited to the loan of a polygraph machine for use in the investigation launched by the "Presidential Battalion" (Batallón Presidencial) (La Prensa Gráfica 26 Nov. 1999).
In September 2000, Roberto Mathies Hill, a businessman found guilty of fraud in connection with the bankruptcy of a finance company, was cited as saying that the OIE had monitored his telephone calls and placed hidden microphones and cameras in his home (El Diario de Hoy 12 Sept. 2000). Hill indicated as well that because the director of the National Civilian Police was abroad at the time of his detention, the OIE took charge of the arrest operation, in which more than 200 PNC officers allegedly participated (ibid.).
The "secretive" OIE (Central America and Mexico Report Sept. 2000) has also reportedly been involved in "clarifying" (esclarecer) several abduction cases in the past decade (El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001b; ibid. 15 Sept. 2001a).
Furthermore, a number of media reports claimed that the OIE, which allegedly remained under de facto military control (CAR 2 July 1999), has engaged in the surveillance of trade union activists, businesspersons and members of opposition political parties (La Opinión 28 Sept. 2001; El País 31 May 1999; El Diario de Hoy 15 Sept. 2001a; Central America and Mexico Report Sept. 2000). In 2000, both the Attorney General's Office and the Legislative Assembly launched investigations into the alleged interception of hundreds of telephone lines by the OIE (Proceso 14 June 2000; El Diario de Hoy 9 June 2000; CAR 23 June 2000), with the Attorney General's Office undertaking a search of the OIE's headquarters in June of that year (P úblico 19 June 2000). However, no information on this investigation subsequent to June 2000 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Baranyi, Stephen and North, Liisa. September 1996. "CERLAC Occasional Paper Series: The United Nations in El Salvador: The Promise and Dilemnas of an Integrated Approach to Peace."
Central America and Mexico Report [Washington]. September 2000. "El Salvador: Police Force Mired in Allegations of Crime and Abuse."
Central America Report (CAR) [Guatemala City]. 23 June 2000. "Wire Tapping in TELECOM." (NEXIS)
_____. 2 July 1999. "Intelligence Service Called Illegal." (NEXIS)
CIS Update [San Salvador]. 1 October-10 December 1999."News Briefs."
El Diario de Hoy [San Salvador]. 22 September 2001. Antonio Soriano and Roxana Huezo. "Ley del OIE iría a la Corte."
_____. 20 September 2001. Ana Giralt. "Presentan Ley del OIE."
_____. 15 September 2001a. Oscar Tenorio. "La OIE, una criatura de los acuerdos de Paz."
_____. 15 September 2001b. Edward Gutiérrez. "Inconstitucional servicio de inteligencia."
_____. 12 September 2000. Mario Martínez. "'El OIE no intervino:' Sandoval."
_____. 9 June 2000. "Asamblea convocaría a los involucrados en espionaje."
La Nación [San José]. 22 September 2001. "Grupo de inteligencia."
_____. 15 September 2001. "El Salvador: eliminan cuerpo de inteligencia."
La Opinión [Los Angeles]. 28 September 2001. Guillermo Mejia. "El Salvador y el ataque a EU: cacería en el trópico." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)
El País [Madrid]. 31 May 1999. "El presidente de El Salvador asume el poder sometido a fuertes críticas."
La Prensa Gráfica [San Salvador]. 26 November 1999. Alfredo Hernández. "'Me reencuentro con la materia penal:' Fiscal."
_____. 2 June 1999. "La apuesta final de Flores."
Proceso [San Salvador]. 14 June 2000. No. 906. "Questions on the Topic of Telephonic Espionage."
Público [Mexico City]. 19 June 2000. "El Salvador."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases.
Internet sites including:
Central Intelligence Agency Electronic Reading Room.
El Salvador Watch [New York]. 2000-2001.
El Mundo [Madrid]. 1997-2002.
La Prensa [San Pedro Sula]. 1996-2002.
La Nación [San José]. 1996-2002.
Tico Times [San José]. 1997-2002.
World News Connection (WNC).