death squad
noun
any of various groups of assassins, especially in Central America, whose members murder political dissidents, petty criminals, etc., usually with the tacit approval of the government.
Origin of death squad
1First recorded in 1965–70
Words Nearby death squad
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use death squad in a sentence
With virtually no membership screening, oversight or internal discipline at this point in their history, the Rangers became something like a death squad.
Along the border, echoes of revolution and Pancho Villa | Matthew Simpson | July 2, 2021 | Washington PostI was subject to a White House death squad that fortunately backed off and aborted the mission.
Daniel Ellsberg: Edward Snowden Is a Hero and We Need More Whistleblowers | Daniel Ellsberg | June 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYou can be the leader of a Salvadoran death squad, and then manage a Jiffy Lube in North Miami.
Sunshine: Florida’s Fraught Relationship With the Truth | Jim DeFede | March 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
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