The Decree of War to the Death, in Spanish Decreto de Guerra a Muerte, was a decree issued by the South American leader Simón Bolívar which permitted murder and any atrocities whatsoever to be committed against civilians born in Spain, other than those actively assisting South American independence, and furthermore exonerated people from the Americas who had already committed such murders and atrocities. The phrase "war to the death" was used as a euphemism for these atrocities. Bolívar promulgated the decree on June 15, 1813, in the Venezuelan city of Trujillo.