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162-499: A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings , massacres , or enforced disappearances as part of political repression , genocide , ethnic cleansing , or revolutionary terror . Except in rare cases in which they are formed by an insurgency, domestic or foreign governments actively participate in, support, or ignore the death squad's activities. Death squads are distinguished from assassination groups by their permanent organization and
324-631: A Fox News cable television interview 12 September 2020, hosted by Jeanine Pirro , President Trump commenting on Reinoehl's death said, " This guy [Reinoehl] was a violent criminal, and the U.S. Marshals killed him ... And I will tell you something – that's the way it has to be ". At an October 15, 2020 rally in Greenville, North Carolina he further elaborated on his praise for the shooting. Trump said " they didn't want to arrest him ", which Rolling Stone characterized as Trump describing Reinoehl's death as an extrajudicial killing. although in
486-699: A Salafist jihadist group through its strict adherence to the Sunni Hanbali obedience to the literal interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah . The Chechen government has been outspoken in its support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , where a Chechen military force, the Kadyrovtsy , which is under Kadyrov's personal command, has played a leading role, notably in the Siege of Mariupol . Meanwhile,
648-781: A drone strike in Yemen killed American citizens Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan . Both resided in Yemen at the time of their deaths. The executive order approving Al-Awlaki's death was issued by Barack Obama in 2010, and was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights in that year. The U.S. president issued an order, approved by the National Security Council , that Al-Awlaki's normal legal rights as
810-661: A famine . As a result, many of the Ukrainians settled in Chechen-Ingush ASSR permanently and survived the famine. Although over 50,000 Chechens and over 12,000 Ingush were fighting against Nazi Germany on the front line (including Heroes of the USSR : Abukhadzhi Idrisov , Khanpasha Nuradilov , Movlid Visaitov ), and although Nazi German troops advanced as far as the Ossetian ASSR city of Ordzhonikidze and
972-706: A satellite phone he was using. The widespread demoralisation of the Russian forces in the area and a successful offensive to re-take Grozny by Chechen rebel forces led by Aslan Maskhadov prompted Russian President Boris Yeltsin to declare a ceasefire in 1996, and sign a peace treaty a year later that saw a withdrawal of Russian forces. After the war, parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 in Chechnya and brought to power new President Aslan Maskhadov, chief of staff and prime minister in
1134-541: A sniper as he said Mass inside a convent chapel on 24 March 1980. In December 1980, three American nuns, Ita Ford , Dorothy Kazel , and Maura Clarke , and a lay worker, Jean Donovan , were gang raped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been carrying out orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing hundreds of real and suspected Communists. Priests who were spreading liberation theology , such as Father Rutilio Grande , were also targeted. The murderers in this case were found to have been soldiers from
1296-485: A sniper assassinated Archbishop Óscar Romero while he was performing Mass in March 1980. In December 1980, three American nuns and a lay worker were gangraped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been acting on specific orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing thousands of peasants and activists. Funding for the squads came primarily from right-wing Salvadoran businessmen and landowners. Because
1458-783: A state of emergency . Tensions led to open clashes between the Chechen National Guard and Islamist militants, such as the July 1998 confrontation in Gudermes. The War of Dagestan began on 7 August 1999, during which the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) began an unsuccessful incursion into the neighboring Russian republic of Dagestan in favor of the Shura of Dagestan which sought independence from Russia. In September,
1620-491: A 2014 report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Buenaventura , a port town in Colombia, "entire neighborhoods were dominated by powerful paramilitary successor groups" HRW reports that the groups "restrict residents' movements, recruit their children, extort businesses, and routinely engage in horrific acts of violence against anyone who defies their will." It is reported that scores of people have been "disappeared" from
1782-524: A Chechen Naqshbandi ( Sufi ) sheikh—with wavering military support from other North Caucasian tribes. Mansur hoped to establish a Transcaucasus Islamic state under sharia law. He was unable to fully achieve this because in the course of the war he was betrayed by the Ottomans , handed over to Russians, and executed in 1794. Following the forced ceding of the current territories of Dagestan, most of Azerbaijan , and Georgia by Persia to Russia, following
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#17327831869191944-526: A Mexican security forces in Chenalhó , Chiapas . In 2000, however, during an internal power struggle between former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and President Zedillo, the PRI was peacefully voted out from power in the 2000 Mexican general election , until 2013 when they partially regained their influence and power, only to lose again in the 2018 Mexican general election . It is also alleged that, during
2106-482: A bridge in trucks covered with paper bags. Gente Nueva was accused of collaborating with the organization. During the California Gold Rush , the state government between 1850 and 1859 financed and organized militia units to hunt down and kill Indigenous Californians . Between 1850 and 1852 the state appropriated almost one million dollars for the activities of these militias, and between 1854 and 1859
2268-472: A civilian should be suspended and his death should be imposed, as he was a threat to the United States. The reasons provided to the public for approval of the order were Al-Awlaki's links to the 2009 Fort Hood Massacre and the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot , the attempted destruction of a Detroit-bound passenger-plane. The following month, al-Awlaki's son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki , an American citizen ,
2430-504: A counterinsurgency strategy. The use of "death squads" as a government tactic became particularly widespread after 1966. Throughout 1966 and the first three months of 1967, within the framework of what military commentators referred to as "el-contra terror", government forces killed an estimated 8,000 civilians accused of "subversive" activity. This marked a turning point in the history of the Guatemalan security apparatus and brought about
2592-452: A death squad to kill Maximilian I of Mexico , Tomás Mejía , and Miguel Miramón for treason and reforms Maximilian made and for his support to French emperor Napoleon III . One of the soldiers on the death squad named Aureliano Blanquet would then later be sentenced to death by firing squad under Francisco I. Madero 45 years later in 1912. Francisco was then later executed a few months later in 1913. For more than seven decades following
2754-484: A deliberate killing not authorized by a previous judgment pronounced by a regular constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. Such term, however, does not include any such killing that, under international law, is lawfully carried out under the authority of a foreign nation. The legality of killings such as in the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011 and
2916-523: A different approach at the end of the 1860s. They offered Chechens and Ingush to leave the Caucasus for the Ottoman Empire (see Muhajir (Caucasus) ). It is estimated that about 80% of Chechens and Ingush left the Caucasus during the deportation. It weakened the resistance which went from open warfare to insurgent warfare. One of the notable Chechen resistance fighters at the end of the 19th century
3078-548: A former military chaplain having been indicted in this case. On 28 November 2006, Víctor Montiglio, charged of this case, ordered Pinochet's house arrest According to the Chilean Government's own Truth and Reconciliation (Rettig) report, 2,279 people were killed in the operations of Pinochet's regime. In June 1999, judge Juan Guzmán Tapia ordered the arrest of five retired generals. The United States supported death squads in Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala during
3240-597: A high life expectancy , one of the highest in Russia. But the pattern of life expectancy is unusual, and in according to numerous statistics, Chechnya stands out from the overall picture. In 2020, Chechnya had the deepest fall in life expectancy, but in 2021 it had the biggest rise. Chechnya has the highest excess of life expectancy in rural areas over cities. (In the territory of modern Chechnya) Practically all Chechen and Ingush people were deported to Central Asia in 1944. They were, however, allowed to return to
3402-490: A lay worker—were raped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been acting on specific orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing hundreds of peasants and activists, including such notable priests as Rutilio Grande . Because the death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the Salvadoran Armed Forces , which was receiving U.S. funding and training from American advisors during
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#17327831869193564-579: A leaked WikiLeaks cable it was found that RAB was trained by the UK government. 16 RAB officials (sacked afterwards) including Lt Col (sacked) Tareque Sayeed , Major (sacked) Arif Hossain, and Lt Commander (sacked) Masud Rana were given death penalty for abduction, murder, concealing the bodies, conspiracy and destroying evidences in the Narayanganj Seven Murder case. Beside this many alleged criminals were killed by Bangladesh police by
3726-515: A licence to kill, which was believed to personally take orders from Farouk. It was involved in several deadly incidents. Death squads are reportedly active in this country. This has been condemned by the US but appears to be difficult to stop. Moreover, there is no proof as to who is behind the killings. In an interview with the Pan-African magazine "Jeune Afrique", Laurent Gbagbo accused one of
3888-408: A major campaign against hostage-takers, and on 25 October 1998, Shadid Bargishev, Chechnya's top anti-kidnapping official, was killed in a remote-controlled car bombing. Bargishev's colleagues then insisted they would not be intimidated by the attack and would go ahead with their offensive. Political violence and religious extremism, blamed on " Wahhabism ", was rife. In 1998, Grozny authorities declared
4050-476: A new era in which mass murder of both real and suspected subversives by government "death squads" became a common occurrence in the country. A noted Guatemalan sociologist estimated the number of government killings between 1966 and 1974 at approximately 5,250 a year (for a total death toll of approximately 42,000 during the presidencies of Julio César Méndez Montenegro and Carlos Arana Osorio ). Killings by both official and unofficial security forces would climax in
4212-471: A poor human rights record, widespread use of torture , and a growing cult of personality . Allegations of anti-gay purges in Chechnya were initially reported on 1 April 2017. In April 2009, Russia ended its counter-terrorism operation and pulled out the bulk of its army. The insurgency in the North Caucasus continued even after this date. The Caucasus Emirate had fully adopted the tenets of
4374-469: A population of over 1.5 million residents as of 2021 . It is home to the indigenous Chechens , part of the Nakh peoples , and of primarily Muslim faith. Grozny is the capital and largest city. According to Leonti Mroveli , the 11th-century Georgian chronicler, the word Caucasian is derived from the Nakh ancestor Kavkas . According to George Anchabadze of Ilia State University : The Vainakhs are
4536-666: A private telegram to the Mexican Ambassador to the French Third Republic , Alberto J. Pani . "... Catholic Church in Mexico is a political movement, and must be eliminated ... free of religious hypnotism which fools the people... within one year without the sacraments, the people will forget the faith..." Calles and his adherents used the Mexican Army and police, as well as paramilitary forces like
4698-425: A school in the town of Beslan , North Ossetia , demanding recognition of the independence of Chechnya and a Russian withdrawal. 1,100 people (including 777 children) were taken hostage. The attack lasted three days, resulting in the deaths of over 331 people, including 186 children. After the 2004 school siege, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced sweeping security and political reforms, sealing borders in
4860-541: A series of apartment bombs that killed around 300 people in several Russian cities, including Moscow, were blamed on the Chechen separatists. Some journalists contested the official explanation, instead blaming the Russian Secret Service for blowing up the buildings to initiate a new military campaign against Chechnya. In response to the bombings, a prolonged air campaign of retaliatory strikes against
5022-898: A statement immediately after the death the United States Marshals Service had said that their task force was attempting to arrest Reinoehl. President Joe Biden continued his predecessors' practice of extrajudicial killings. Those killed during his administration include: Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Venezuela . According to Human Rights Watch almost 18,000 people have been killed by security forces in Venezuela since 2016 for "resistance to authority" and many of these killings may constitute extrajudicial execution . Amnesty International estimated that there were more than 8,200 extrajudicial killings in Venezuela from 2015 to 2017. Ahead of
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5184-651: A substantial number of Chechen separatists have allied themselves to the Ukrainian cause and are fighting a mutual Russian enemy in the Donbas . Situated in the eastern part of the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe , Chechnya is surrounded on nearly all sides by Russian Federal territory. In the west, it borders North Ossetia and Ingushetia , in the north, Stavropol Krai , in the east, Dagestan, and to
5346-742: A three-week session of the United Nations Human Rights Council , the OHCHR chief, Michelle Bachelet , visited Venezuela between 19 and 21 June 2019. Bachelet expressed her concerns for the "shockingly high" number of extrajudiciary killings and urged for the dissolution of the Special Action Forces (FAES). The report also details how the Venezuelan government has "aimed at neutralising, repressing and criminalising political opponents and people critical of
5508-474: Is Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq (English: Shield of Detective Le Cocq ), named after deceased Detective Milton Le Cocq. The group was particularly active in the Brazilian southeastern states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro , and remains active in the state of Espírito Santo . In the state of São Paulo , death squads and individual gunmen called justiceiros were pervasive and executions almost were exclusively
5670-623: Is considered the homeland for Terek Cossacks . The Russification policies towards Chechens continued after 1956, with Russian language proficiency required in many aspects of life to provide Chechens better opportunities for advancement in the Soviet system. On 26 November 1990, the Supreme Council of Chechen-Ingush ASSR adopted the "Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic". This declaration
5832-436: Is divided into 15 districts and three cities of republican significance. According to the 2021 Census , the population of the republic is 1,510,824, up from 1,268,989 in the 2010 Census . As of the 2021 Census, Chechens at 1,456,792 make up 96.4% of the republic's population. Other groups include Russians (18,225, or 1.2%), Kumyks (12,184, or 0.8%) and a host of other small groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of
5994-402: Is estimated that the military regime killed between eleven thousand and fifteen thousand people and most of the victims were known or suspected to be opponents of the regime. These included intellectuals , labor leaders, human rights workers, priests, nuns, reporters, politicians, and artists as well as their relatives. Half of the number of extrajudicial killings were reportedly carried out by
6156-409: Is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding . It typically refers to government authorities, whether lawfully or unlawfully, targeting specific people for death, which in authoritarian regimes often involves political, trade union , dissident, religious and social figures. The term is typically used in situations that imply the human rights of
6318-554: The 1973 Chilean coup d'état , he immediately ordered the purges, torture, and deaths of more than 3,000 supporters of the previous democratic socialist government without trial. During his regime , which lasted from 1973 to 1989, elements of the Chilean Armed Forces and police continued committing extrajudicial killings. These included Manuel Contreras, the former head of Chile's National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), which served as Pinochet's secret police . He
6480-735: The African National Congress (ANC), their ally, the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), began a campaign to topple South Africa's National Party (NP)-controlled Apartheid Government. Both the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and South African security forces routinely engaged in bombings and targeted killings, both at home and abroad. Particularly notorious apartheid death squads were
6642-646: The American South because the majority of African Americans lived there, but racially motivated lynchings also occurred in the Midwest and border states . One issue regarding extrajudicial killing is the legal and moral status of targeted killing by unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States . Section 3(a) of the United States Torture Victim Protection Act contains a definition of extrajudicial killing:
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6804-591: The Battle of the Terek River (see Tokhtamysh–Timur war ). The Chechen tribes built fortresses, castles, and defensive walls, protecting the mountains from the invaders (see Vainakh tower architecture ). Part of the lowland tribes were occupied by Mongols. However, during the mid-14th century a strong Chechen Princedom called Simsim emerged under Khour II , a Chechen king that led the Chechen politics and wars. He
6966-535: The Bloody Island and Yontoket Massacres , in which up to 400 or more natives were killed in each massacre, constitutes acts of genocide against the native people of California. Beginning in the 1850s, pro-slavery Bushwhackers and anti-slavery Jayhawkers waged war against each other in the Kansas Territory . Due to the horrific atrocities committed by both sides against civilians, the territory
7128-686: The Carter administration, these events prompted outrage in the U.S. and led to a temporary cutoff in military aid from the Reagan administration, although death squad activity stretched well into the Reagan years (1981–1989) as well. Honduras also had death squads active through the 1980s, the most notorious of which was Battalion 316 . Hundreds of people, including teachers, politicians and union bosses, were assassinated by government-backed forces. Battalion 316 received substantial support and training from
7290-810: The Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) and the South African Police 's counter-insurgency unit C10, commanded by Colonel Eugene de Kock and based at the Vlakplaas farm west of Pretoria , itself also a center for torture of prisoners. After the end of Apartheid, death squad violence conducted by both the National Party and the ANC was investigated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission . From 1971 to 1979, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin set up death squads to murder enemies of
7452-645: The Dirección Federal de Seguridad as a death squad to kill Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Federal Judicial Police commanders who investigated or destroyed drug plantations in the 1970s and 1980s in Mexico. One example was the murder (after torture) of DEA agent Kiki Camarena , who was killed in Guadalajara for his part in the Rancho Bufalo raid. The DFS also organized death squads to kill journalists including Manuel Buendía who
7614-827: The European Parliament recognized the deportation of Chechens and Ingush as an act of genocide . The territory of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was divided between Stavropol Krai (where Grozny Okrug was formed), the Dagestan ASSR , the North Ossetian ASSR , and the Georgian SSR . The Chechens and Ingush were allowed to return to their land after 1956 during de-Stalinisation under Nikita Khrushchev when
7776-653: The Government of Colombia , falsely claimed to be FARC rebels by the Military Forces of Colombia . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in El Salvador . During the Salvadoran Civil War , death squads achieved notoriety when far-right vigilantes assassinated Archbishop Óscar Romero for his social activism in March 1980. In December 1980, four Americans—three nuns and
7938-726: The Holy See and the Mexican State negotiated a compromise agreement. Refusing to lay down his arms despite offers of amnesty , General Gorostieta was killed in action by the Mexican Army in Jalisco on 2 June 1929. Following the cessation of hostilities, more than 5,000 Cristeros were summarily executed by Mexican security forces. The events of the Cristero War are depicted in the 2012 film For Greater Glory . During
8100-399: The International Bar Association , Mark Ellis , cautioned that any such involvement by foreign nations would constitute a breach of international law. The United Kingdom and Israel denied participation in the Kenyan National Security Council's reported death squads, with the UK Foreign Office indicating that it had approached the Kenyan authorities over the charges. Beginning in the 1960s,
8262-420: The Ku Klux Klan Act through Congress in 1871 and called on the United States Army to help federal officials the arrest and breakup of the Klan. 600 Klansmen were convicted, and 65 men were sent to prison for as long as five years. In June 2020, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Austreberto "Art" Gonzalez filed a claim against the county, claiming that approximately twenty percent of the deputies operating in
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#17327831869198424-472: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 's Compton station belonged to a secret death squad. Gonzales alleges that the group, named " The Executioners ", carried out multiple extrajudicial killings over the years and that members followed initiation rituals, including being tattooed with skulls and Nazi imagery. During the Salvadoran civil war , death squads (known in Spanish by the name of Escuadrón de la Muerte, "Squadron of Death") achieved notoriety when
8586-414: The Mexican Revolution , Mexico was a one-party state ruled by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). During this era, death squad tactics were routinely used against suspected enemies of the state. During the 1920s and 1930s, the PRI's founder, President Plutarco Elías Calles , used death squads against Mexico's Roman Catholic majority in the Cristero War . Calles explained his reasons in
8748-405: The Northern Caucasus in 1957 by Nikita Khrushchev . See Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush . Sunni Islam is the predominant religion in Chechnya, practiced by 95% of those polled in Grozny in 2010. Most of the population is Sunni and follows either the Shafi'i or the Hanafi schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence ). The Shafi'i school of jurisprudence has a long tradition among
8910-419: The Red Shirts , to abduct, torture, and execute priests, nuns, and actively religious laity. Mexican Catholics were also routinely hanged from telegraph poles along the railroad lines. Prominent victims of the Mexican State's campaign against Catholicism include the teenager Jose Sanchez del Rio , the Jesuit priest Father Miguel Pro , and the Christian Pacifist Anacleto González Flores (see also Saints of
9072-400: The Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723 . Russian forces succeeded in taking much of the Caucasian territories from Iran for several years. As the Russians took control of the Caspian corridor and moved into Persian-ruled Dagestan , Peter's forces ran into mountain tribes. Peter sent a cavalry force to subdue them, but the Chechens routed them. In 1732, after Russia had already ceded back most of
9234-433: The Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and its resultant Treaty of Gulistan , Russia significantly widened its foothold in the Caucasus at the expense of Persia. Another successful Caucasus war against Persia several years later, starting in 1826 and ending in 1828 with the Treaty of Turkmenchay , and a successful war against Ottoman Turkey in 1828 and 1829, enabled Russia to use a much larger portion of its army in subduing
9396-416: The SIM to kill Haitians in the Parsley massacre . The Tonton Macoute was a paramilitary force created in 1959 by Haitian dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier , they murdered 30,000 to 60,000 Haitians. In a way similar to the American Indian Wars , the Centralist Republic of Mexico struggled against Apache raids. Between 1835 and 1837, only 15 years after the Mexican War of Independence and in
9558-424: The Telangana Police in the 2019 Hyderabad gang rape case killing the 4 accused is another form of extrajudicial killing. Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Indonesia . In the 1953 Iranian coup d'état a regime was installed through the efforts of the American CIA and the British MI6 in which the Shah (hereditary monarch) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi used SAVAK death squads (also trained by
9720-410: The civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the victims of lynchings were members of various ethnicities, after roughly 4 million enslaved African Americans were emancipated , they became the primary targets of white Southerners . Lynchings in the U.S. reached their height from the 1890s to the 1920s, and they primarily victimised ethnic minorities . Most of the lynchings occurred in
9882-445: The extrajudicial killings . The murders reportedly totalled several hundred homicides every year. They included the assassination of Abubaker Shariff Ahmed "Makaburi", an Al-Shabaab associate from Kenya, who was among 21 Islamic extremists allegedly murdered by the Kenyan police force since 2012. According to the agents, they resorted to the killing after the Kenya Police could not successfully prosecute terror suspects. In doing so,
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#173278318691910044-413: The "Twelve Golden Men of Rio de Janeiro's Police", and from there it spread throughout Brazil in the 1970s. In general, its members were politicians, members of the judiciary, and police officials. As a rule, these groups were financed by members of the business community. In the 1970s and 1980s, several other organizations were modeled after the 1960s Esquadrão da Morte . The most famous such organization
10206-585: The 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, death squads continued to be used against anti-PRI activists, both Marxists and social conservatives . One example of this is the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre , in which an anti-regime protest rally was attacked by security forces in Mexico City . After this event, paramilitary groups like " Los Halcones " (The Hawks) and the "Brigada blanca" (White brigade) were used to attack, hunt and exterminate political dissidents. Allegations have been made by both journalists and American law enforcement of collusion between senior PRI statesmen and
10368-446: The 1980s. In 1993, Amnesty International reported that clandestine military units began covertly operating as death squads in 1978. According to the report, throughout the 1980s political killings rose to a peak of 3,500 in 1988, averaging some 1,500 victims per year since then, and "over 1,500 civilians are also believed to have "disappeared" since 1978." The AUC , formed in 1997, was the most prominent paramilitary group. According to
10530-413: The 2000s it seems to have almost entirely, if not completely, ceased using them. Chechnya Chechnya , officially the Chechen Republic , is a republic of Russia . It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe , between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea . The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District , and shares land borders with Georgia to its south; with
10692-430: The CIA) to imprison, torture and/or kill hundreds of dissidents. After the 1979 revolution death squads were used to an even greater extent by the new Islamic government. In 1983, the CIA gave the Supreme Leader of Iran — Ayatollah Khomeini —information on KGB agents in Iran. This information was probably used. The Iranian government later used death squads occasionally throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; however by
10854-420: The Caucasus region and revealing plans to give the central government more power. He also vowed to take tougher action against domestic terrorism, including preemptive strikes against Chechen separatists. In 2005 and 2006, separatist leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev were killed. Since 2007, Chechnya has been governed by Ramzan Kadyrov . Kadyrov's rule has been characterized by high-level corruption,
11016-428: The Caucasus to Persia, now led by Nader Shah , following the Treaty of Resht , Russian troops clashed again with Chechens in a village called Chechen-aul along the Argun River . The Russians were defeated again and withdrew, but this battle is responsible for the apocryphal story about how the Nokchi came to be known as "Chechens" – the people ostensibly named for the place the battle had taken place. The name "Chechen"
11178-532: The Chechen coalition government, for a five-year term. Maskhadov sought to maintain Chechen sovereignty while pressing the Russian government to help rebuild the republic, whose formal economy and infrastructure were virtually destroyed. Russia continued to send money for the rehabilitation of the republic; it also provided pensions and funds for schools and hospitals. Nearly half a million people (40% of Chechnya's prewar population) had been internally displaced and lived in refugee camps or overcrowded villages. There
11340-576: The Chechen-Ingush ASSR city of Malgobek after capturing half of the Caucasus in less than a month, Chechens and Ingush were falsely accused as Nazi supporters and entire nations were deported during Operation Lentil to the Kazakh SSR (later Kazakhstan ) in 1944 near the end of World War II where over 60% of Chechen and Ingush populations perished. American historian Norman Naimark writes: Troops assembled villagers and townspeople, loaded them onto trucks – many deportees remembered that they were Studebakers, fresh from Lend-Lease deliveries over
11502-460: The Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored but with both the boundaries and ethnic composition of the territory significantly changed. There were many (predominantly Russian) migrants from other parts of the Soviet Union , who often settled in the abandoned family homes of Chechens and Ingushes. The republic lost its Prigorodny District which transferred to North Ossetian ASSR but gained predominantly Russian Naursky District and Shelkovskoy District that
11664-691: The Congo . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Egypt . Egypt recorded and reported more than a dozen unlawful extrajudicial killings of apparent ‘terrorists’ in the country by the NSA officers and the Interior Ministry police in September 2021. A 101-page report detailed the ‘armed militants’ being killed in shootouts despite not posing any threat to the security forces or nations of
11826-557: The Cristero War ). In response, an armed revolt against the Mexican State, the Cristero War , began in 1927. Composed largely of peasant volunteers and commanded by retired General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde , the Cristeros were also responsible for atrocities. Among them were the assassination of former Mexican President Álvaro Obregón , train robberies, and violent attacks against rural teachers. The uprising largely ended after
11988-560: The German forces. Many of the materials were later proven to be fabricated. Even distinguished Red Army officers who fought bravely against Germans (e.g. the commander of 255th Separate Chechen-Ingush regiment Movlid Visaitov , the first to contact American forces at Elbe river) were deported. There is a theory that the real reason why Chechens and Ingush were deported was the desire of Russia to attack Turkey, an anti-communist country, as Chechens and Ingush could impede such plans. In 2004,
12150-775: The Ichkerian regime and a ground offensive that began in October 1999 marked the beginning of the Second Chechen War. Much better organized and planned than the First Chechen War, the Russian armed forces took control of most regions. The Russian forces used brutal force, killing 60 Chechen civilians during a mop-up operation in Aldy, Chechnya on 5 February 2000. After the re-capture of Grozny in February 2000,
12312-531: The Ichkerian regime fell apart. Chechen separatists continued to fight Russian troops and conduct terror attacks. In October 2002, 40–50 Chechen rebels seized a Moscow theater and took about 900 civilians hostage. The crisis ended with 117 hostages and up to 50 rebels dead, mostly due to an unknown aerosol pumped into the building by Russian special forces to incapacitate the people inside. In response to these attacks, Russia tightened its grip on Chechnya and expanded its anti-terrorist operations throughout
12474-498: The Iranian border – and delivered them at previously designated railheads. ... Those who could not be moved were shot. ... [A] few fighters aside, the entire Chechen and Ingush nations, 496,460 people, were deported from their homeland. The deportation was justified by the materials prepared by NKVD officer Bogdan Kobulov accusing Chechens and Ingush in a mass conspiracy preparing rebellion and providing assistance to
12636-601: The Jayhawkers' earlier destruction of Osceola, Missouri . The Bushwhackers shot down nearly 150 unarmed men and boys. During the Reconstruction era , embittered Confederate veterans supported the Ku Klux Klan and similar vigilante organizations throughout the American South . The Klan and its counterparts terrorized and lynched African Americans, northern carpetbaggers , and Southern " scalawags ". This
12798-508: The Mexican drug cartels . It has even been alleged that, under PRI rule, no drug traffickers were ever successful without the permission of the Mexican State. If the same drug trafficker fell from favor, however, Mexican law enforcement would be ordered to move against their operation, as happened to Pablo Acosta Villarreal in 1987. Drug lords like Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo , Rafael Caro Quintero , and Juan José Esparragoza Moreno would use
12960-477: The Northern Caucasus ) which was recognized by major world powers. The capital of the new state was moved to Temir-Khan-Shura (Dagestan). Tapa Tchermoeff , a prominent Chechen statesman, was elected the first prime minister of the state. The second prime minister elected was Vassan-Girey Dzhabagiev, an Ingush statesman, who also was the author of the constitution of the republic in 1917, and in 1920 he
13122-639: The Russian Federation if Chechnya were granted that right. Finally, it argued that Chechnya was a major hub in the oil infrastructure of Russia and hence its secession would hurt the country's economy and energy access. During the Chechen Revolution , the Soviet Chechen leader Doku Zavgayev was overthrown and Dzhokhar Dudayev seized power. On 1 November 1991, Dudaev's Chechnya issued a unilateral declaration of independence. In
13284-724: The Russian republics of Dagestan , Ingushetia , and North Ossetia–Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Checheno-Ingush ASSR split into two parts: the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The latter proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , which declared independence, while
13446-584: The Salvadoran military and security forces, the U.S. role in El Salvador- what was known about death squads, when it was known, and what actions the United States did or did not take to curb their abuses- became an important part of El Salvador's death squad story." Some death squads, such as Sombra Negra , are still operating in El Salvador. The Salvadoran Army 's U.S.-trained Atlácatl Battalion
13608-523: The Salvadoran military, which was receiving U.S. funding and had U.S. military advisors during the Carter administration. These events prompted outrage in the U.S. and led to a temporary ending of military aid at the end of his presidency. Honduras also had death squads active through the 1980s, the most notorious of which was the army unit Battalion 316 . Hundreds of people, teachers, politicians, and union leaders were assassinated by government-backed forces. Battalion 316 received substantial training from
13770-530: The Transcaucasia which it considered useful in its wars against Persia and Turkey, the Russian Empire began conquering the Northern Caucasus mountains. The Russian Empire used Christianity to justify its conquests, allowing Islam to spread widely because it positioned itself as the religion of liberation from tsardom, which viewed Nakh tribes as "bandits". The rebellion was led by Mansur Ushurma ,
13932-443: The US to provide increased counterinsurgency assistance to Guatemala's security apparatus in the mid to late 1960s. Documents released in 1999 details how United States military and police advisers had encouraged and assisted Guatemalan military officials in the use of repressive techniques, including helping establish a "safe house" from within the presidential palace as a location to coordinate counter insurgency activities. In 1981, it
14094-683: The United States Central Intelligence Agency . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Jamaica . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Mexico . On 7, 8, and 9 December 1982 fifteen prominent Surinamese men who had criticized Dési Bouterse 's ruling military regime were murdered. This tragedy is known as the December murders . The acting commander of the army Dési Bouterse
14256-578: The United States Central Intelligence Agency . In Southeast Asia , extrajudicial killings were conducted by both sides during the Vietnam War . As of 2010, death squads have continued to be active in Chechnya . The Iron Guard of Egypt was a pro-palace political movement or a secret palace organization of the Kingdom of Egypt which assassinated Farouk of Egypt 's enemies or a secret unit with
14418-575: The United States Central Intelligence Agency . At least 19 members were School of the Americas graduates. Seven members, including Billy Joya , later played important roles in the administration of President Manuel Zelaya as of mid-2006. Following the 2009 coup d'état , former Battalion 3–16 member Nelson Willy Mejía Mejía became Director-General of Immigration and Billy Joya was de facto President Roberto Micheletti 's security advisor. Another former Battalion 3–16 member, Napoleón Nassar Herrera ,
14580-532: The United States! That was how he answered us." Throughout the Ortega government, starting in 2006, but escalating with the 2018–2020 Nicaraguan protests , Sandinista National Liberation Front government has employed death squads also known as " Turbas " or militia groups armed and aided by the National Police to attack pro-democracy protesters. The government's crackdown of lethal force was condemned by
14742-572: The ancient natives of the Caucasus . It is noteworthy, that according to the genealogical table drawn up by Leonti Mroveli, the legendary forefather of the Vainakhs was "Kavkas", hence the name Kavkasians, one of the ethnicons met in the ancient Georgian written sources, signifying the ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush . As appears from the above, the Vainakhs, at least by name, are presented as
14904-498: The appearance of the wheel (3000 BC), horseback riding, metal works (copper, gold, silver, iron), dishes, armor, daggers, knives and arrow tips in the region. The artifacts were found near Nasare-Cort , Muzhichi , Ja-E-Bortz (alternatively known as Surkha-khi ), Abbey-Gove (also known as Nazran or Nasare). In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was frequent warfare between the Chechens, Tamerlane and Tokhtamysh , culminating in
15066-515: The borders of Chechnya from invasions of Kabardinians and Avars during the Battle of Khachara . The Chechens converted over the next few centuries to Sunni Islam , as Islam was associated with resistance to Russian encroachment. Peter the Great first sought to increase Russia's political influence in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea at the expense of Safavid Persia when he launched
15228-671: The civilian population" since 1991, including "the crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape and murder". Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Ethiopia . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Ivory Coast . Extrajudicial executions are common in informal settlements in Kenya . Killings are also common in Northern Kenya under
15390-498: The closest thing we have to a direct continuation of the cultural and linguistic community that gave rise to Western civilisation ." Traces of human settlement dating back to 40,000 BC were found near Lake Kezanoi . Cave paintings, artifacts, and other archaeological evidence indicate continuous habitation for some 8,000 years. People living in these settlements used tools, fire, and clothing made of animal skins. The Caucasian Epipaleolithic and early Caucasian Neolithic era saw
15552-446: The country while being killed, which in many cases were already in custody. Statements by the family and relatives of those killed claimed that the victims were not involved in any armed or violent activities. The 2019 Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council found that in 2016, Eritrean authorities committed extrajudicial killings, in the context of a "persistent, widespread and systematic attack against
15714-564: The death of Qasem Soleimani in 2020 have been brought into question. In that case, the US defended itself claiming the killing was not an assassination but an act of "National Self Defense". There had been just under 2,500 assassinations by targeted drone strike by 2015, and these too have been questioned as being extrajudicial killings. Concerns about targeted and sanctioned killings of non-Americans and American citizens in overseas counter-terrorism activities have been raised by lawyers, news firms and private citizens. On 30 September 2011
15876-476: The death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the Salvadoran Armed Forces , which were receiving U.S. arms, funding, training and advice during the Carter , Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, these events prompted some outrage in the U.S. Human rights activists criticized U.S. administrations for denying Salvadoran government links to the death squads. Veteran Human Rights Watch researcher Cynthia J. Arnson writes that "particularly during
16038-472: The deaths took place in what he defined as more than 370 massacres (defined as the "intentional killing of five or more disarmed combatants or largely unarmed noncombatants, including women, children, and prisoners, whether in the context of a battle or otherwise"). Some scholars contend that the state financing of these militias, as well as the US government's role in other massacres in California, such as
16200-414: The ensuing decade, the territory was locked in an ongoing struggle between various factions, usually fighting unconventionally. The First Chechen War, during which Russian forces attempted to regain control over Chechnya, took place from 1994 to 1996. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority in troops, weaponry, and air support , the Russian forces were unable to establish effective permanent control over
16362-683: The execution of at least 75 individuals held in Army custody in these garrisons. According to the NGO Memoria y Justicia , the squad killed 26 in the South and 71 in the North, making a total of 97 victims. Augusto Pinochet was indicted in December 2002 in this case, but he died four years later without having been convicted. The trial, however, is on-going as of September 2007, other militaries and
16524-533: The first Russian involvement in the Caucasus. In 1558, Temryuk of Kabarda sent his emissaries to Moscow requesting help from Ivan the Terrible against the Vainakh tribes. Ivan the Terrible married Temryuk's daughter Maria Temryukovna . An alliance was formed to gain the ground in the central Caucasus for the expanding Tsardom of Russia against stubborn Vainakh defenders. In 1667 Mehk-Da Aldaman Gheza defended
16686-644: The former sided with Russia. Following the First Chechen War of 1994–1996 with Russia, Chechnya gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, although de jure it remained a part of Russia. Russian federal control was restored in the Second Chechen War of 1999–2009, with Chechen politics being dominated by the former Ichkerian Mufti Akhmad Kadyrov , and later his son Ramzan Kadyrov . The republic covers an area of 17,300 square kilometres (6,700 square miles), with
16848-553: The government" since 2016. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials presided over murders, abduction, and other abuses with the tacit backing of their government and its western allies, Human Rights Watch alleged in its report from March 2015. Australian extrajudicial killings: Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Bangladesh . The Bangladesh Police special security force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has long been known for extrajudicial killing. In
17010-505: The guise of counter-terrorism operations. Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Libya . Argentina 's National Reorganization Process military dictatorship during the 1976–1983 period used extrajudicial killings systematically as way of crushing the opposition in the so-called " Dirty War " or what is known in Spanish as La Guerra Sucia . During this violent period, it
17172-760: The interference of the Mexican Air Force . As a result, Carillo Fuentes became known as "The Lord of the Skies." During the 1990s drug cartels were on the rise in Mexico and groups like the Gulf Cartel would form death squads like Los Zetas to suppress, control, and uproot rival cartel factions. The PRI also used death squad tactics against the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in the Chiapas conflict . In 1997, forty-five people were killed by
17334-722: The international community, the Organization of American States, Human Rights Watch, and the local and international Catholic Church. Amnesty International reports that "the security forces in Argentina first started using "death squads" in late 1973. One example was Alianza Anticomunista Argentina , a far-right death squad mainly active during the " Dirty War ". By the time military rule ended in 1983 some 1,500 people had been killed directly by "death squads", and over 9,000 named people and many more undocumented victims had been "disappeared"—kidnapped and murdered secretly—according to
17496-500: The introduction of agriculture , irrigation , and the domestication of animals in the region. Settlements near Ali-Yurt and Magas , discovered in modern times, revealed tools made out of stone: stone axes, polished stones, stone knives, stones with holes drilled in them, clay dishes etc. Settlements made out of clay bricks were discovered in the plains. In the mountains there were settlements made from stone and surrounded by walls; some of them dated back to 8000 BC. This period also saw
17658-457: The larger number of victims (typically thousands or more) who may not be prominent individuals. Other violence, such as rape, torture, arson, or bombings may be carried out alongside murders. They may comprise a secret police force, paramilitary militia groups, government soldiers, policemen, or combinations thereof. They may also be organized as vigilantes, bounty hunters, mercenaries, or contract killers. When death squads are not controlled by
17820-557: The late 1970s and early 1980s under the presidencies of Fernando Romeo Lucas García and Efraín Ríos Montt , with over 18,000 documented killings in 1982 alone. Greg Grandin claims that "Washington, of course, publicly denied its support for paramilitarism, but the practice of political disappearances took a great leap forward in Guatemala in 1966 with the birth of a death squad created, and directly supervised, by U.S. security advisors." An upsurge in rebel activity in Guatemala convinced
17982-447: The liberal and communist opposition to the military junta during the " Dirty War " of the 1970s. For example, Alianza Anticomunista Argentina was a far-right death squad mainly active during the "Dirty War". The Chilean military regime of 1973–1990 also committed such killings. See Operation Condor for examples. During the Salvadoran Civil War , death squads became notorious following the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero by
18144-582: The midst of the Texan Revolution , the Mexican state governments of Sonora and Chihuahua (that border with the U.S. states of Texas , New Mexico and Arizona ) put a bounty on the Apache bands that were in the area. In the case of Chihuahua the bounty attracted " bounty hunters " from the United States, that were often Anglo Americans , runaway slaves and even from other Indian tribes . It
18306-601: The most "Caucasian" people of all the Caucasians (Caucasus – Kavkas – Kavkasians) in the Georgian historical tradition. American linguist Johanna Nichols "has used language to connect the modern people of the Caucasus region to the ancient farmers of the Fertile Crescent " and her research suggests that "farmers of the region were proto-Nakh-Daghestanians". Nichols stated: "The Nakh–Dagestanian languages are
18468-404: The mountainous area due to numerous successful full-scale battles and insurgency raids. The Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in 1995 shocked the Russian public. In April 1996, the first democratically elected president of Chechnya, Dzhokhar Dudayev , was killed by Russian forces using a booby trap bomb and a missile fired from a warplane after he was located by triangulating the position of
18630-608: The murder squad that operated from a detention center in Buenos Aires called Escuela Mecanica de la Armada . The dirty wars in Argentina sometimes triggered even more violent conflicts since the killings and crackdowns precipitated responses from insurgents . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Brazil . Senator Flávio Bolsonaro , son of President Jair Bolsonaro , was accused of having ties to death squads. When General Augusto Pinochet assumed power in
18792-545: The name of Crossfire . In 2018, many alleged drug dealers were killed in the name of " War on Drugs " in Bangladesh. The United Nations criticised the government under Sheikh Hasina for high rates of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, especially the members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami , including former elected MPs . Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a political refugee from India living in Canada. He
18954-526: The natives of the North Caucasus . The resistance of the Nakh tribes never ended and was a fertile ground for a new Muslim- Avar commander, Imam Shamil , who fought against the Russians from 1834 to 1859 (see Murid War ). In 1859, Shamil was captured by Russians at aul Gunib. Shamil left Baysangur of Benoa , a Chechen with one arm, one eye, and one leg, in charge of command at Gunib. Baysangur broke through
19116-556: The numbers are likely far higher. Brazilian politician Flávio Bolsonaro , the son of Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro , was accused of having ties to death squads. One of the most notorious murder gangs operated by the Chilean Army was the Caravan of Death , whose members travelled by helicopter throughout Chile between 30 September and 22 October 1973. During this foray, members of the squad ordered or personally carried out
19278-703: The officers indicated that they were acting on the direct orders of Kenya's National Security Council, which consisted of the Kenyan President, Deputy President, Chief of the Defence Forces, Inspector General of Police, National Security Intelligence Service Director, Cabinet Secretary of Interior, and Principal Secretary of Interior. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the National Security Council of Kenya members denied operating an extrajudicial assassination program. Additionally,
19440-453: The officers suggested that Western security agencies provided intelligence for the program, including the whereabouts and activities of government targets- alleging that the British government supplied further logistics in the form of equipment and training. One Kenyan officer within the council's General Service Unit also indicated that Israeli instructors taught them how to kill. The head of
19602-634: The officially appointed National Commission on Disappeared People (CONADEP). The Esquadrão da Morte ("Death Squad" in Portuguese) was a paramilitary organization that emerged in the late 1960s during the Brazilian military dictatorship . It was the first group to have received the name "Death Squad" in Latin America, but its actions resembled traditional vigilantism as most executions were not exclusively politically related. The greater share of
19764-456: The opposition leaders, Alassane Ouattara (ADO), to be the main organizer of the media frenzy around his wife's involvement in the killing squads. He also successfully sued and won, in French courts, in cases against the French newspapers that made the accusations. In December 2014, Kenyan Anti-Terrorism Police Unit officers confessed to Al-Jazeera that they were responsible for almost 500 of
19926-611: The parties in power to exterminate even more political dissidents, activists and their own rivals. An example of this is the case of the 2014 forced disappearance and assassination of 43 activist rural students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers' College, in the hands of police officers colluded with the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel. Six years later in 2020, it was confirmed that members from the Mexican Army base in town had worked with police and gang members to kidnap
20088-565: The phone and eating candy without verbal warning. Dingess said that Reinoehl attempted to take cover by the side of a car before he was fatally shot and was only carrying a phone. Reinoehl was a self-described Antifa activist who was charged of second-degree murder by the Portland Police Bureau following the fatal shooting on 29 August 2020, of a Patriot Prayer supporter, Aaron J. Danielson , in Portland, Oregon . In
20250-414: The political executions during the 21 years of military dictatorship (1964–1985) were carried out by the Brazilian Armed Forces itself. The purpose of the original "Death Squad" was, with the consent of the military government, to persecute, torture and kill suspected criminals ( marginais ) regarded as dangerous to society. It began in the former state of Guanabara led by Detective Mariel Mariscot, one of
20412-519: The recognition of Chechnya as a separate nation. This movement was opposed by Boris Yeltsin 's Russian Federation , which argued that Chechnya had not been an independent entity within the Soviet Union—as the Baltic, Central Asian, and other Caucasian states such as Georgia had—but was part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and hence did not have a right under the Soviet constitution to secede. It also argued that other republics of Russia , such as Tatarstan , would consider seceding from
20574-457: The region. Russia installed a pro-Russian Chechen regime. In 2003, a referendum was held on a constitution that reintegrated Chechnya within Russia but provided limited autonomy. According to the Chechen government, the referendum passed with 95.5% of the votes and almost 80% turnout. The Economist was skeptical of the results, arguing that "few outside the Kremlin regard the referendum as fair". In September 2004, separatist rebels occupied
20736-545: The right to freedom from extrajudicial execution for countries around the world, using a survey of in-country human rights experts. Article 3(d) of the First Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits carrying out executions without passing a prior judgement by a competent and regularly constituted court with all commonly recognized judicial guarantees for everyone taking part in the trial. Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Burundi . Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Democratic Republic of
20898-516: The siege and continued to fight Russia for another two years until he was captured and killed by Russians. The Russian tsar hoped that by sparing the life of Shamil, the resistance in the North Caucasus would stop, but it did not. Russia began to use a colonization tactic by destroying Nakh settlements and building Cossack defense lines in the lowlands. The Cossacks suffered defeat after defeat and were constantly attacked by mountaineers, who were robbing them of food and weaponry. The tsarists' regime used
21060-404: The south, Georgia . Its capital is Grozny. Chechnya is well known for being mountainous, but it is in fact split between the more flat areas north of the Terek, and the highlands south of the Terek. Rivers: Despite a relatively small territory, Chechnya is characterized by a variety of climate conditions. The average temperature in Grozny is 11.2 °C (52.2 °F). The Chechen Republic
21222-446: The state appropriated another $ 500,000, almost half of which was reimbursed by the federal government. By one estimate, at least 4,500 Californian Indians were killed in the California genocide between 1849 and 1870. Contemporary historian Benjamin Madley has documented the numbers of Californian Indians killed between 1846 and 1873; he estimates that during this period at least 9,492 Californian Indians were killed by non-Indians. Most of
21384-508: The state, they may consist of insurgent forces or organized crime, such as the ones used by cartels. Although the term "death squad" was not widely used until the activities of such groups became widely known in Central and South America during the 1970s and 80s, death squads have been employed under different guises throughout history. The term was first used by the fascist Iron Guard in Romania . It officially installed Iron Guard death squads in 1936 in order to kill political enemies. It
21546-425: The state. Rafael Trujillo 's Dominican government employed a death squad, known as la 42 and led by Miguel Angel Paulino. Paulino would often drive a red Packard called the Carro de la Muerte (Death Car). During the 12-year regime of Joaquín Balaguer , the Frente Democrático Anticomunista y Antiterrorista , also known as La Banda Colorá , continued the practices of la 42 . Balaguer was also known for directing
21708-451: The students. The Sinaloa Cartel has been known for having enforcer death squads like Gente Nueva , Los Ántrax , and enforcers forming their own death squads. From 2009 to 2012, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel under the name Los Matazetas did massacres in the states of Veracruz and Tamaulipas with their intention to remove the rival Los Zetas Cartel . One example was the Boca del Rio massacre in 2011, where 35 corpses were found under
21870-431: The time they first lost the presidency, some of the most powerful PRI members were supporting and protecting drug cartels that they used as death squads against their criminal and political rivals, with it being one of the real reasons the National Action Party government accepted to start the Mexican drug war against the Cartels. However, it is also alleged that during this period of time the turmoil of war has been used by
22032-450: The total population. The birth rate was 25.41 in 2004. (25.7 in Achkhoi Martan, 19.8 in Groznyy, 17.5 in Kurchaloi, 28.3 in Urus Martan and 11.1 in Vedeno ). The languages used in the Republic are Chechen and Russian . Chechen belongs to the Vaynakh or North-central Caucasian language family, which also includes Ingush and Batsb . Some scholars place it in a wider North Caucasian languages . Despite its difficult past, Chechnya has
22194-492: The town over the years. Bodies are dismembered before they are disposed of and residents have reported the existence of casas de pique , "chop-up houses" where people are slaughtered. Many residents have fled and are considered to have been "forcibly displaced": 22,028 residents fled in 2011, 15,191 in 2012, and 13,468 between January and October 2013. Extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing )
22356-422: The twentieth century. The war between Nakh tribes and Russia resurfaced during the times of the Russian Revolution , which saw the Nakh struggle against Anton Denikin and later against the Soviet Union . On 21 December 1917, Ingushetia , Chechnya, and Dagestan declared independence from Russia and formed a single state: "United Mountain Dwellers of the North Caucasus" (also known as the Mountainous Republic of
22518-470: The victims have been violated; deaths caused by legal police actions (such as self defense) or legal warfighting on a battlefield are generally not included, even though military and police forces are often used for killings seen by critics as illegitimate. The label "extrajudicial killing" has also been applied to organized, lethal enforcement of extralegal social norms by non-government actors, including lynchings and honor killings . Morris Tidball-Binz
22680-459: The work of off-duty policemen. In 1983, a police officer nicknamed " Cabo Bruno " was convicted of murdering more than 50 victims. The "Death Squads" active under the rule of the military dictatorship continue as a cultural legacy of the Brazilian police. In the 2000s, police officers remain linked with death squad-type executions. In 2003, roughly 2,000 extrajudicial murders occurred in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with Amnesty International claiming
22842-427: The years 1980–1983 when the killing was at its height (numbers of killings could reach as far as 35,000), assigning responsibility for the violence and human rights abuses was a product of the intense ideological polarization in the United States. The Reagan administration downplayed the scale of abuse as well as the involvement of state actors. Because of the level of denial, as well as the extent of U.S. involvement with
23004-403: Was a Chechen abrek Zelimkhan Gushmazukaev and his comrade-in-arms Ingush abrek Sulom-Beck Sagopshinski. Together they built up small units which constantly harassed Russian military convoys, government mints, and government post-service, mainly in Ingushetia and Chechnya. Ingush aul Kek was completely burned when the Ingush refused to hand over Zelimkhan. Zelimkhan was killed at the beginning of
23166-406: Was also used during the Battle of Algiers by Paul Aussaresses . In Latin America , death squads first appeared in Brazil where a group called Esquadrão da Morte (literally "Death Squad") emerged in the 1960s; they subsequently spread to Argentina and Chile in the 1970s, and they were later used in Central America during the 1980s. Argentina used extrajudicial killings as a way of crushing
23328-465: Was an economic downturn. Two Russian brigades were permanently stationed in Chechnya. In light of the devastated economic structure, kidnapping emerged as the principal source of income countrywide, procuring over US$ 200 million during the three-year independence of the chaotic fledgling state, although victims were rarely killed. In 1998, 176 people were kidnapped, 90 of whom were released, according to official accounts. President Maskhadov started
23490-399: Was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions on 1 April 2021 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) . Many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch , campaign against extrajudicial punishment. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative measures
23652-577: Was assassinated 7 August 2020 on the streets of Tehran by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four intelligence officials of the United States. Comments on Michael Reinoehl's death On 3 September 2020, a law enforcement officer in Lacey, Washington fatally shot Michael Forest Reinoehl during a shootout. Reinoehl initiated the shootout according to statements by officials. However, there were conflicting witness reports, most notably Nathaniel Dingess, who told The New York Times , that agents opened fire on Reinoehl while on
23814-517: Was behind numerous assassinations and human rights abuses such as the 1974 abduction and forced disappearance of Socialist Party of Chile leader Victor Olea Alegria . Some of the killings were also coordinated with other right-wing dictatorships in the Southern Cone in the so-called Operation Condor . There were reports of United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement, particularly within its activities in Central and South America that promoted anti-Communist coups. While CIA's complicity
23976-459: Was dubbed " Bleeding Kansas ". After the American Civil War began, the fraternal bloodshed increased. The most infamous atrocity which was committed in Kansas during the American Civil War was the Lawrence Massacre . A large force group of Partisan Rangers who were led by William Clarke Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson and affiliated with the Confederacy attacked and burned down the pro- Union town of Lawrence, Kansas in retaliation for
24138-457: Was high Commissioner of Police for the north-west region under Zelaya and under Micheletti, and also became a Secretary of Security spokesperson "for dialogue" under Micheletti. Zelaya claimed that Joya had reactivated the death squad, with dozens of government opponents having been murdered since the ascent of the Michiletti and Lobo governments. Throughout the Guatemalan Civil War , both military and "civilian" governments utilized death squads as
24300-451: Was however already used from as early as 1692. Under intermittent Persian rule since 1555, in 1783 the eastern Georgians of Kartl-Kakheti led by Erekle II and Russia signed the Treaty of Georgievsk . According to this treaty, Kartl-Kakheti received protection from Russia, and Georgia abjured any dependence on Iran . In order to increase its influence in the Caucasus and to secure communications with Kartli and other Christian regions of
24462-457: Was in charge of an army of Chechens against the rogue warlord Mamai and defeated him in the Battle of Tatar-tup in 1362. The kingdom of Simsim was almost destroyed during the Timurid invasion of the Caucasus, when Khour II allied himself with the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in the Battle of the Terek River. Timur sought to punish the highlanders for their allegiance to Tokhtamysh and as a consequence invaded Simsim in 1395. The 16th century saw
24624-565: Was killed by another US drone strike and in January 2017 Nawar al-Awlaki , al-Awlaki's eight-year-old daughter, also an American citizen and half-sister of Abdulrahman, was shot to death during the raid on Yakla by American forces along with between 9 and 29 other civilians, up to 14 al-Qaeda fighters, and American Navy SEAL William Owens . President Donald Trump continued the practice of extrajudicial killings of his predecessor. Those killed under this policy include: The New York Times reported 13 November 2020 that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
24786-413: Was killed by orders of DFS chief José-Antonio Zorrilla. By the early 1990s, the PRI started to lose the grip on its absolute political power, however, its corruption became so pervasive that Juárez Cartel boss Amado Carrillo Fuentes was even able to purchase a window in Mexico's air defense system. During this period, his airplanes were permitted to smuggle narcotics into the United States without
24948-528: Was murdered 18 June 2023. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused 18 September 2023 the Indian government publicly of complicity. Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in India. A form of extrajudicial killing is called police encounters . Such encounters are also being staged by military and other security forces . Extrajudicial killings are also common in Indian states especially in Uttar Pradesh where 73 people were killed from March 2017 to March 2019. Police Encounter on 6 December 2019, by
25110-421: Was not proven, American dollars supported the regimes that carried out extrajudicial killings such as the Pinochet administration. CIA, for instance, helped create DINA and the agency admitted that Contreras was one of its assets. Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Colombia . An investigation of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace found that from 2002 to 2008, 6402 civilians were killed by
25272-553: Was often done with the unofficial support of the Democratic Party leadership. Historian Bruce B. Campbell has called the KKK, "one of the first proto-death squads". Campbell alleges that the difference between it and modern-day death-squads is the fact that the Ku Klux Klan was composed of members of a defeated regime rather than members of the ruling government. "Otherwise, in its murderous intent, its links to private elite interests, and its covert nature, it very closely resembles modern-day death squads." President Ulysses S Grant pushed
25434-532: Was paid based on Apache scalps, 100 pesos per warrior, 50 pesos per woman, and 25 pesos per child. As historian Donald E. Worcester wrote: "The new policy attracted a diverse group of men, including Anglos, runaway slaves led by Seminole John Horse , and Indians — Kirker used Delawares and Shawnees ; others, such as Terrazas, used Tarahumaras ; and Seminole Chief Coacoochee led a band of his own people who had fled from Indian Territory .". During Benito Juarez 's regime and his comeback as president , he used
25596-500: Was part of the reorganisation of the Soviet Union. This new treaty was to be signed 22 August 1991, which would have transformed 15 republic states into more than 80. The 19–21 August 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt led to the abandonment of this reorganisation. With the impending dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, an independence movement, the Chechen National Congress , was formed, led by ex- Soviet Air Force general and new Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev . It campaigned for
25758-412: Was re-elected for the third term. In 1921 the Russians attacked and occupied the country and forcibly absorbed it into the Soviet state. The Caucasian war for independence restarted, and the government went into exile. During Soviet rule, Chechnya and Ingushetia were combined to form the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic . In the 1930s, Chechnya was flooded with many Ukrainians fleeing
25920-417: Was reported by Amnesty International that this same "safe house" was in use by Guatemalan security officials to coordinate counterinsurgency activities involving the use of the "death squads." According to a victim's brother, Mirtala Linares "He wouldn't tell us anything; he claimed they hadn't captured [Sergio], that he knew nothing of his whereabouts – and that maybe my brother had gone as an illegal alien to
26082-459: Was responsible for the El Mozote massacre where more than 800 civilians were murdered, over half of them children, the El Calabozo massacre , and the murders of six Jesuits in 1989. Honduras had death squads active through the 1980s, the most notorious of which was Battalion 3–16 . Hundreds of people, teachers, politicians, and union bosses were assassinated by government-backed forces. Battalion 316 received substantial support and training from
26244-415: Was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Surinamese court martial on 29 November 2019. Based on a survey of human rights experts administered by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, the U.S. scores a 4.1 on a scale of 0-10 on the right to freedom from extrajudicial execution. Lynching was the extrajudicial killings which began in the United States' pre–Civil War South in the 1830s and ended during
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