Regalado Armed Forces

The exact date of creation of the organization is not indicated in open sources, but the beginning of activity is usually attributed to 1974 . During this period, El Salvador sharply aggravated social contradictions and political conflicts. Leftist ideas spread, Marxist rebel movements and the Communist Party of El Salvador intensified. Agitation for agrarian reform intensified. Ultra - left organizations actively used violent methods of struggle. The conservative oligarchy sharply tightened its policy. Landowners, government officials, financiers, and army officers supported the creation of ultra-right-wing terrorist groups.

One of the first death squads in El Salvador was formed in the small town of Santiago de Maria ^[1] . Created by a dentist Hector Antonio Regalado , known as Doc . He adhered to ultra - right anti - communist views, possessed organizational skills, the gift of persuasion, and sheer charisma. Moreover, he enjoyed authority as a qualified dentist, and among young people, especially men, as a well-aimed shooter.

"Squadron" was called the Armed Forces of Regalado ( Fuerzas Armadas de Regalado , FAR ) ^[2] . Regalado recruited his fighters mainly among local scouts - boys and adolescents, sometimes girls. In other cases, Regalado recruits came from the Lumpen and criminal environment. An example of the first kind was Luis Oscar Guzman ^[1] , an example of the second was Hernan Torres Cortes ^[3] . Both belonged to the closest associates of Regalado.

With the help of the military, Hector Antonio Regalado trained his fighters in shooting and hand-to-hand combat. He conducted political studies on anti-communism and the situation in the country. Boys and girls under the command of Regalado attacked and killed left activists and Marxist partisans ^[1] . Some of them were particularly cruel, the “bloodiest” were considered to be the brother and sister of Ramiro and Dora Alicia. The Lista del Doc - Doc List - a list of persons subject to liquidation (mainly student and trade union leaders close to the partisans and left organizations) was compiled ^[3] .

Salvador did not need Jack the Ripper . Instead, there were FAR, Ramiro and Dora Alicia ... ^[2]

FAR terrorist acts were brutal and insolent. An episode is known when Torres Cortes and his henchmen stopped a bus on the outskirts of Santiago de María, took a left activist Sonia Guadalupe, listed on the Doc’s list, onto the highway and shot. In another known situation, they shot an ambush car of a local trade union leader ^[3] .

FARs were a very strong armed organization. We went through almost all student activists and other, let’s say, subversive elements. We have worked throughout the eastern region. They pulled them out of their houses onto the streets and killed. Because they were detrimental to the country.
Hernan Torres Cortes ^[1]

FAR activities were carried out in close contact with the National Guard . The military supplied the militants with weapons and provided operational support. Financing of the "squadron" came from local landowners interested in protecting against guerrilla attacks ^[1] . FAR militants took over the protection of local coffee and cotton plantations. Moreover, the actions of the FAR were not only political, but also criminal racketeering . Regalado demanded that landowners pay security services, the cost of which was about $ 100 per hour. To convince them of the need for cash contributions, Regalado organized threatening calls on behalf of the partisans, after which FAR militants attacked latifundia ^[3] .

FAR were built on the model of the military-ideological order. The organization reigned ideological unanimity, strict discipline, reckless fidelity, unquestioning obedience, the cult of Regalado as a leader, cruel punishments and bloody reprisals against apostates and perpetrators. The “history of the scouts of Santiago de Maria” is seen as particularly scary even in the general context of the Salvadoran “death squads” ^[1] .

In 1979 , the civil war in Salvador began . Hector Antonio Regalado was among the key figures surrounded by Roberto d'Aubusson , the leader of the far-right forces. Created by Major d'Aubusson, the National Wide Front was the focal point for the death squads.

The largest rally took place on March 24, 1980 : the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero , whom d'Aubusson and his supporters considered the main accomplice of the Communists. According to the investigation, Regalado took an active personal part in this crime.

Shortly before the assassination, Regalado informed the FAR militants that they would “heal like in heaven” soon, as Major d'Aubusson would become president. The ruling Revolutionary Government junta linked the totality of events into the preparation of the coup. May 7, 1980 d'Aubusson with a group of his associates was arrested, but was soon released. Hector Antonio Regalado managed to escape to Guatemala in advance.

From abroad, Regalado continued to lead the FAR. Particularly trusted persons strictly complied with the orders received. Hernan Torres Cortes worked as a liaison between Regalado and his partners in the Salvadoran Army and the National Guard. Now Regalado considered the main task to cover the tracks, the elimination of unwanted witnesses.

On December 27, 1980, ten young militants, including Luis Oscar Guzmán, Ramiro and Douro Alicia, gathered at a coffee farm near Santiago de Maria. All of them were killed by specially called up military men (according to some estimates, they were treated with the same cruel methods that they practiced themselves) ^[2] . Neither previous terrorist activity nor Regalado’s personal devotion were taken into account. Hernan Torres Cortes escaped this fate only because he was in San Salvador that day, carrying out the next assignment of Regalado.

The memory of that day terrifies the city. This secret is whispered ^[1] .

The story of FAR is over.

During the Civil War, the Salvadoran death squads consolidated under the leadership of Major d'Aubusson. In 1981, this consolidation was organizationally and politically framed in the Nationalist Republican Alliance ( ARENA ) party. Hector Antonio Regalado returned to El Salvador and headed the ARENA security service and d'Aubusson's personal guard. Some FAR fighters have joined this system. Among them was Hernan Torres Cortes, who accidentally survived in December 1980. They and his partner, Jorge, were on the security guard of the 1982 Constitutional Assembly of El Salvador . The chairman of this body was Roberto d'Aubusson, the chief of security was Hector Antonio Regalado. Militants with FAR experience rejoined terrorist attacks and criminal operations ^[3] .

It was a different, higher level. The real godfathers. They gave us money, weapons, clothes, shoes and socks.
Hernan Torres Cortes ^[1]

In 1984, Roberto d'Aubusson was defeated in the presidential election . The Christian Democratic Party came to power. The government of Jose Napoleon Duarte has launched an investigation into the murder of Archbishop Romero. Hector Antonio Regalado emigrated to Guatemala again. Several former FAR members, including Torres Cortes and Jorge, have joined the Salvadoran branch of the Secret Anti-Communist Army , under the leadership of d'Aubusson and with the participation of Regalado.

In 1988 , when peace talks between the Salvadoran government and the FNOF partisans were already underway, Hernan Torres Cortes considered it possible to tell the press the story of FAR. His decision was influenced by a conflict with the former leadership - he was offered a police position, which he regarded as inadequate to his merits. According to him, the allegiance of the FAR militants to their leader Regalado was associated with fear: “We were afraid to kill. But they had to fulfill their mission. Otherwise, Doc would kill us ” ^[3] .

• Union of White Warriors
• El Salvador Nationalist Movement
• White hand
• Argentina Anti-Communist Alliance
• Colorado Party Militia
• Red Gauras