Godnick, William and Helena Vasquez. 2003 ‘El Salvador: Domestic Arms Control Laws.’ Small Arms Control in Central America: Monitoring the Implementation of Small Arms Control Projects (MISAC); Latin America Series No. 2, pp. 18-19. London: International Alert, Security and Peacebuilding Programme. 1 June

Relevant contents

El Salvador: Domestic Arms Control Laws

Salvadoran firearms owners must register their weapons with the MDN, as well as obtain a licence to possess and/or carry firearms in public places. A firearms buyer must obtain a licence before purchasing a firearm from a licenced dealer and has to wait for five days after requesting to make a purchase. In comparison to other Central American countries, there is a broader range of weaponry that public citizens can acquire, including semi-automatic rifles.

Ownership licences must be renewed every six years, while licences for concealed/carrying must be renewed every three years. Ammunition is only sold to persons who can show a licence for a weapon of the same calibre as requested.

The PNC-DAE is a technical unit responsible for safe storage, transfers from the PNC to the MDN and carrying out the ballistics identification of confiscated weapons. The MDN is responsible for destroying all confiscated weapons that have not been returned to their rightful owner in cases of theft. Since ballistics tests are archived with the MDN, the PNC has to make a formal request every time it wants access to ballistics data, placing a bureaucratic burden on any query.

[MDN: Ministry of National Defence & PNC: National Civilian Police]

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