Azulitos

The Azulitos - or the Elite Rural Militia of San Doloroso to give them their full title - were a secret police force established by long-time dictator Miguel Vicente Ladrón in the mid 1950s. The organisation answered directly to the president and acted as a counter balance to the traditional armed forces, protecting Ladrón against the threat of a military coup. Feared and revered in equal measure, the Azulitos were drawn exclusively from members of the indigenous Escoria community. Using money, land and the native religion, Ladrón drew the Azulitos close to himself and established a strong personality cult. The Azulitos dressed in distinctive blue t-shirts and baseball caps. The machete was their weapon of choice. In the aftermath of the death of Ladrón there was a backlash against the Azulitos, and after an aborted attempt at a coup in 1991 the organisation was disbanded. The Escoria religion, however, still carries considerable weight in San Doloroso.