Albert Schaufelberger

Albert Schaufelberger (died May 25, 1983) was a United States naval commander who was assassinated in El Salvador.

Background

Schaufelberger was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and was an avid American football player at school. His father, Albert Schaufelberger Senior, was a decorated fighter and bomber pilot during the Vietnam War.

Role in El Salvador

Lieutenant Commander Schaufelberger was the senior U.S. Naval representative at the U.S. Military Group, El Salvador. He was a US Navy SEAL, second in command of the US Military Group advising the Salvadoran Military on counter insurgency and weapons traffic interdiction operations. In addition, he was security chief for the 53 U.S. military advisors in the country at the time. Schaufelberger had responsibility, among other duties, for naval operations in the Gulf of Fonseca which were run out of the La Union naval base. It was at the La Union naval base where Schaufelberger allowed himself to be photographed for the last time several days before his assassination. Schaufelberger's death was the first of a U.S. soldier in El Salvador following the October 1980 arrival in country of U.S. military advisors.

Assassination

At approximately 1830 hours on 25 May 1983, Schaufelberger was assassinated on the grounds of the Central American University in San Salvador. A group under the umbrella of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRTC), was thought to have carried out the act.

Schaufelberger had been dating an employee of the university, Consuelo Escalante Aguilera, for several months and had established a pattern of driving to the university in civilian clothes to pick her up after work. While he varied the days of the week, the time was always the same, between 1830 and 1840. On the 25th he arrived at the normal time and sounded the horn of his armored embassy-provided Ford Maverick, his usual signal to inform his date that he had arrived. Ms. Aguilera exited her office and observed what she believed to be a white Volkswagen microbus pull up and stop near Schaufelberger's car. Three men got out of the bus; a fourth man stayed with the vehicle. One gunman, carrying a revolver, went behind the victim's car and stopped Ms Aguilera. The second gunman took up a security position while a third gunman ran to the open window of Schaufelberger's car and fired four rounds of .22 Magnum from a handgun into the left side of the victim's head. The assassins then jumped into their vehicle and escaped. Unfortunately, the air conditioner in Schaufelberger's vehicle had broken, and he had removed the bullet-resistant glass on the driver's side. He routinely carried a revolver while driving, but did not have the opportunity to use it.

During his last discussion with journalists covering US-advised Salvadoran military operations, Schaufelberger advised those journalists present that the insurgents "know who I am, and where I live". His house had apparently already received drive-by gunfire during one recent evening.

Press coverage

Albert Schaufelberger's assassination was featured on the front cover of the June 6, 1983 edition of "Newsweek" magazine. The US edition was headlined "The First Casualty" and the international edition "Shooting to Kill".

Schaufelberger was photographed in uniform and interviewed by international media representatives (including by Newsweek) one week before his death. Previous pictures of Schaufelberger had been taken by the Magnum Photo Agency in Paris for a syndicated feature story on the escalating US military involvement in the region. For security reasons Schaufelberger appeared in those photos as a rear view only and in civilian clothes.

Further reading

"Newsweek", June 6 1983 carried a detailed background of Albert Schaufelberger.

ee also

*Salvadoran Civil War
*1985 Zona Rosa attacks