Crime in El Salvador

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Crime in El Salvador has been historically extremely high due to the presence of various gangs. As of 2011, there were an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador; with another 43,500 in prison. [1] The best-known gangs, called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and their rivals 18th Street; maras are hunted by death squads, including Sombra Negra . Newer rivals include the rising mara, The Rebels 13. [2] El Salvador is one of the three countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, along with neighboring Guatemala and Honduras, which are all afflicted with high levels of violence. [3]

Contents

MS-13 gang member with tattoo of gang name on his back Marasalvatrucha13.png
MS-13 gang member with tattoo of gang name on his back

The homicide rate in El Salvador has plummeted drastically since the 2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown which has led the country to have the highest incarceration rate in the world at 1,086 people per 100,000 with an estimated 1.6% of the country's total population said to be currently incarcerated. [4]

History of violence in El Salvador

The Salvadoran Civil War, which lasted from 1979 to 1992, [5] took the lives of approximately 80,000 soldiers and civilians in El Salvador. Throughout the war, nearly half of the country's population fled from violence and poverty, and children were recruited as soldiers by both the military-run government and the guerrilla group Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). [6] Hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans relocated to Los Angeles, California. [7] This conflict ended with the Chapultepec Peace Accords, [8] but the violence in El Salvador has not stopped since.

Many of those who had relocated to Los Angeles during the war as refugees became involved in gang violence. During this time, the U.S. War on Drugs and anti-immigrant politics had been popularized. Following these sentiments, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 was passed, which called for deportation of "immigrants--documented or undocumented--with criminal records at the end of their jail sentences". [7] Throughout the years following, thousands of Salvadorans had been deported back to El Salvador. Gangs that had originated in Los Angeles, namely Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, were spread transnationally through this process. [9]

In 2012, El Salvador saw a 41% drop in crime compared to 2011 figures due to what the Salvadoran government called a gang truce. [10] In early 2012, there were an average of 16 killings per day, but in late March that number dropped to fewer than five per day, and on April 14, 2012, for the first time in over three years, there were no killings in the country. [11] Overall, there were 411 killings in the month of January 2012, but in March the number was 188, more than a 40% reduction in crime. [12] The truce ended in 2014, with the murder rate subsequently rising again. [13]

El Salvador homicides

In 2021, the homicide rate reached the lowest it has been since the Salvadoran Civil War ended in 1992, with 18 homicides per 100,000 people. [14] In recent years, the homicide rate of El Salvador has plummeted drastically amid the 2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown. [15]

Homicides in El Salvador [16]
YearPer 100k inhabitantsTotal
2015106.3
201684.1
201783.0
201853.13,346
201938.02,398
202021.21,341
202118.11,147
20227.8495
20232.4154 [17]

Gangs

An MS-13 suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. Marasalvatrucha13arrest.png
An MS-13 suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed.

Mara 18 and MS-13 are the largest and most notorious in El Salvador. Mara 18 is also known as 18th Street and MS-13 as Mara Salvatrucha. 18th Street was formed in the 1960s by Mexican-American youth in the Rampart neighborhood of Los Angeles, California." [18] The 18th Street gang, originating in Los Angeles, has proliferated in San Salvador. The Mara Salvatrucha is a rival gang.

Gangs and violence

Gangs contribute to the generally high levels of social violence in El Salvador. They engage in various serious criminal acts which terrorize and paralyze society. Homicide and extortion are the most publicized crimes. [18] There are different forms of violence constructed in El Salvador such as political, gender, and structural violence. Women and children have been particular targets of violence, torture, and abuse. [19] [20] Gangs engage in sex trafficking in El Salvador as an alternative source of profit to drugs. [21] [22] [23]

MS-13 presence - light-red indicates territories with a lighter presence, dark-red indicates territories with a strong presence MaraSalvatruchaLocation.png
MS-13 presence light-red indicates territories with a lighter presence, dark-red indicates territories with a strong presence

Reasons for joining gangs

Criminal youth gangs dominate life in El Salvador; an estimation of at least 60,000 young people belong to gangs. [24] Salvadoran young men decide to join a gang for several reasons. Sometimes this is understood as a choice, but other motivations include feeling neglected and abandoned by family or feeling they do not belong anywhere except where violence occurs. Juan Fogelbach argues that general risk factors associated with gang membership include: poverty, family disintegration or separation, neglect, violent domestic environments, unemployment, scarcity of educational and developmental opportunities, and family membership in gangs. The presence of one or more of these factors may compel an adolescent or child to turn to gangs in hope of finding a familial environment, social status, and economic opportunities. [18] The average age for one to join a gang is between 10 and 14 years old. [25]

MS-13 and Mara 18 have an unknown relationship with drug traffickers. El Salvador police report that traffickers cultivate ties and build alliances with gangs that eventually mature into international syndicates. The drug business has been growing with more gangs becoming involved with them and disputing over territory with the drug traffickers. [18] The United States is home to 10,000 members of the MS-13 gang who are involved with the transnational criminal networks of drugs, weapons, and violent gang culture. [26]

Efforts to reduce violence

Government policy

The government has set up numerous programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership. La Mano Dura was a form of zero tolerance policy, a strategy that had flowed into El Salvador from Los Angeles, which called for "the immediate imprisonment of a gang member simply for having gang-related tattoos or flashing gang signs in public." [27] Before this policy was ruled unconstitutional, it put tens of thousands of gang members as young as 12 years old in jail between 2003 and 2004. [27]

Following La Mano Dura was a government program called Super Mano Dura ("Super Firm Hand"). Super Mano Dura was highly criticized by the UN. [3] According to the Salvadoran government, it saw temporary success in 2004 with a 14% drop in murders. This success dwindled beginning in the next year, and as of 2005, El Salvador had 65 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, more than triple the current rate of Mexico. [1] [28]

Recent efforts by mayor Norman Quijano to restore public safety have been somewhat successful. Security measures in San Salvador's most troubled Districts (5 and 6, which border Soyapango, and are home to many gangs) included safety campaigns and recreational activities to keep youth from joining gangs. The mayor also initiated a security camera program so the police can monitor the most heavily trafficked areas of the city. The project was launched in the historic downtown and will expand throughout the entire city. [29]

In late April, President Nayib Bukele ordered that prisons containing gang members be placed on lockdown following a spate of violence between April 24 and April 27, 2020, that killed 77 people, which was blamed on gang members. As part of the Salvadoran government's crackdown, prisoners were locked in crowded cells for 23 hours a day; cell were barricaded with plywood and sheets of metal; mobile and wifi signals were blocked, and rival gang members were mixed together. [30] [31] [32] Human Rights Watch has criticized the treatment of prisoners as humiliating, degrading, and endangering their health in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. [31]

Gang truce

In March 2012, two of El Salvador's largest gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18, established a truce. This truce was established as a collaborative effort with the Salvadoran government to attempt to reduce the number of gang related homicides. [33] This truce has received criticism because it has been seen as the Salvadoran government's forfeiting sovereignty to these gangs. In early 2012, there were on average of 16 killings per day, but in late March that number dropped to fewer than five per day, and on April 14, 2012, for the first time in over three years, there were no killings in the country. Overall, there were 411 killings in the month of January 2012, but in March the number was 188, more than a 50% reduction. In March 2015, 481 people were murdered—roughly 16 people a day—as the gang truce collapsed. [34] This murder rate was 52% higher than that of the same time period the prior year. There were also allegations that the police was involved in extrajudicial killings of alleged gang members, following the fracturing of gangs and a radicalization of the security forces in an attempt to tackle the gang problem after the 2012 truce collapsed. [35] The year before, in 2014, several gangs had offered a new truce as "a second chance for the country to achieve peace." [36] However, President Salvador Sánchez Cerén had rejected the gangs' offer. [36]

The administration of President Cerén launched a crackdown on the security and public officials of the previous administration who were responsible for mediating and implementing the truce between the government and the crime groups. [37] The crackdown is part of the government's mano dura or "iron fist" approach, which has been criticized for its indiscriminate use of force against predominantly young male targets, suspected to be gang members. [38]

Non-government groups

In 1996, [39] Homies Unidos was formed to prevent violence and gang-membership among youth in El Salvador. With a base in Los Angeles as well as within El Salvador, the organization also provides a link for deportees and for those with family split between the two areas. [9] The organization helps navigate the complicated and dangerous gang geography of El Salvador for deportees [9] and also provides programming and care for young people in both locations. The organization encourages employment, education, and physical and mental health and provides tools and resources for achieving these things, such as tattoo removal and job connections. [39]

Impact on youth

During the War

During the violent Salvadoran Civil War, children joined the fight for many reasons. Some were kidnapped and forced into the army, some others joined for the economic benefits while the country struggled through high rates of poverty. Family members had been killed or had fled the country, leaving the children alone with few other options other than joining the war effort. Even those who were not soldiers witnessed the brutal violence. Exposure to these traumatic events and the dislocation of families [7] caused damaging psychological side effects from these traumatic exposures. [6]

Gang involvement

Salvadoran youths join gangs for many reasons. Sometimes this is understood as a choice, but it can also be attributed to a feeling of neglect and abandonment from family as well as a normalization of violence in society. Juan Fogelbach argues that general risk factors associated with gang membership include poverty, family disintegration or separation, neglect, violent domestic environments, unemployment, scarcity of educational and developmental opportunities, and family membership in gangs. The presence of one or more of these factors may compel an adolescent or child to turn to gangs in hope of finding a familial environment, social status, and economic opportunities. [18] These young people are often unable to find respect or validation in other forms, such as within families, community, work, or schools, and turn to violence to gain respect on the streets. [6] Some of these young people grew up in Los Angeles as the children of war refugees, and experienced gang involvement there. Sent to El Salvador as deportees, these people now find community and protection in the familiar groups that have been brought to El Salvador from the U.S., like Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18. [9]

Gang members are "jumped in," an initiation process through which they have to prove their loyalty by committing criminal acts such as murder, theft or violence. This can also involve being beaten by several other gang members at once, and female recruits often must choose between engaging in sexual acts with a large number of members, or be beaten. [40] [41] Youth gangs are a major source of concern for society. [20]

Women in gangs

Though gangs are primarily male-dominated, young women in El Salvador are also involved. Being initiated into the gangs for young women often involves group beatings, like it does for males, but can also involve sexual assault by several of the male gang members. [40] Mo Hume explains: "Because gangs believe women are less suspicious in the eyes of authorities, they are also often tasked with acting as drug 'mules,' smuggling illicit goods into jails, gathering intelligence on rival gangs, and carrying arms in public spaces". [40]

Unaccompanied minors fleeing El Salvador

Young people are fleeing El Salvador to the United States, fearful of gang violence. [42] Since the breakdown of the gang peace agreement in 2012, the number of these Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) encountered in the U.S. has risen dramatically. Between 2009 and 2012, less than 2,000 UACs were encountered annually. In the 2014 fiscal year, over 16,000 were encountered. The fiscal years 2012 through 2016 saw an average of nearly 8,000. [43]

According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "Given the fundamental role played by the family in the protection, physical care and emotional well-being of its members, separation from families is particularly devastating for refugee children. [44]

Region specific

San Salvador

Concerns about public safety in the capital San Salvador increased in the late 1980s due to the civil war. Although it was fought primarily in the countryside, during the latter years of the war, guerrillas started attacking the capital city. San Salvador recovered quickly after the cessation of hostilities, but gang ("mara") violence became a problem.

The 18th Street gang, originating in Los Angeles, California, has proliferated in San Salvador as has the Mara Salvatrucha, a rival gang. In 2002, crime rates skyrocketed, and the municipal government was unable to combat the rise.

Recent efforts by mayor Norman Quijano to restore public safety have been somewhat successful. Security measures in San Salvador's most troubled Districts (5 and 6, which border Soyapango, and are home to many gangs) included safety campaigns and recreational activities to keep youth from joining gangs. The mayor also initiated a security camera program so the police can monitor the most heavily trafficked areas of the city. The project was launched in the historic downtown and will expand throughout the entire city. [29]

As of 2011, San Salvador had managed to reduce its crime rate and reduce its murder rate to a level lower than that of Haiti, Venezuela, [45] Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras, [46] although at over 90 murders per 100,000 residents, San Salvador's per capita rate was more than 10 times higher than that of major cities such as New York or London. [47] Also, according to a UN Development report, San Salvador has a relatively low robbery rate of 90 per 100,000, [48] compared to San José, the capital of Costa Rica, which has 524 robberies per 100,000. [49]

Districts 3 and 4 [50] are the safest in the country; their crime rates are comparable to those of European cities. Districts 1 and 2 have a slightly higher crime rate than 3 or 4, while District 5, bordering San Marcos, and District 6, bordering Soyapango, have the highest crime rates.

Homicide by municipality (2009–2014)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Salvador</span> Country in Central America

El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country's population in 2023 was estimated to be 6.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18th Street gang</span> Transnational criminal gang

The 18th Street Gang, also known as Calle 18, Barrio 18, Mara 18, or simply 18 in North America, is a multi-ethnic transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest transnational criminal gangs in Los Angeles, with 30,000-50,000 members between the United States, Mexico, and Central America and is also allied with the Mexican Mafia, another US-based crime organization. A United States Department of Justice report featured the following statement regarding 18th Street and rival gang MS-13, "These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the highest homicide rate in the world."

A mara is a form of gang originating in the United States, which spread to Central American countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Civil Police (El Salvador)</span>

The National Civil Police of El Salvador, also known as PNC, is the national civilian police of El Salvador. Although the National Civil Police is not part of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, it constitutes along with them the "Civilian Force". It was created after the Peace Accords were signed at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City on January 16, 1992, and began the operations on February 1, 1993, in order to guarantee the order, safety, and the public tranquility for every single corner of El Salvador. The PNC is a replacement of the National Police of El Salvador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime and violence in Latin America</span> Crime information

Crime and violence affect the lives of millions of people in Latin America. Some consider social inequality to be a major contributing factor to levels of violence in Latin America, where the state fails to prevent crime and organized crime takes over State control in areas where the State is unable to assist the society such as in impoverished communities. In the years following the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, crime and violence have become major problems in Latin America. The region experienced more than 2.5 million murders between 2000 and 2017. Several studies indicated the existence of an epidemic in the region; the Pan American Health Organization called violence in Latin America "the social pandemic of the 20th century." Apart from the direct human cost, the rise in crime and violence has imposed significant social costs and has made much more difficult the processes of economic and social development, democratic consolidation and regional integration in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MS-13</span> Transnational criminal gang

Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization. MS-13 has a long time rivalry with the 18th Street gang.

Crime in Honduras has become a growing matter of concern for the Honduran population in recent years. Honduras has experienced alarmingly high levels of violence and criminal activity, with homicide rates reaching a peak in 2012, averaging 20 homicides per day. Corruption, extortion, coercion, and drug smuggling also run rampant throughout Honduran society, preventing the nation from building trustworthy authorities like police, and severely limiting economic, social, or political progress. The situation has prompted international organizations and governments to offer assistance in combating crime in Honduras.

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Transnational gangs can be described as gangs that are located in multiple countries. When these gangs commit crimes in one country, their plans for the crime can sometimes be put together in another country. These gangs or mara are able to move around efficiently from one place to another. Transnational gangs are not a normal street gang because they are much larger in size and located in more than one country; they are considered to be able to pose a significant threat for the safety of the countries they are located in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Triangle of Central America</span> Three-country region

The Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the three Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The term is used with respect to the countries' economic integration, and their shared challenges, including widespread poverty, violence, and corruption, which have prompted many to become refugees fleeing the three nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvadoran gang crackdown</span> Ongoing large-scale arrests of alleged gang members in El Salvador

The Salvadoran gang crackdown, referred to in El Salvador as the Régimen de Excepción and the Guerra Contra las Pandillas, began in March 2022 in response to a crime spike between 25 and 27 March 2022, when 87 people were killed in El Salvador. The Salvadoran government blamed the spike in murders on criminal gangs in the country, resulting in the country's legislature approving a state of emergency that suspended the rights of association and legal counsel, and increased the time spent in detention without charge, among other measures that expanded the powers of law enforcement in the country.

The Honduran gang crackdown, referred to in Honduras as the Régimen de Excepción, began in December 2022 after parts of the constitution were suspended to fight criminal gangs in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Soyapango</span> Event of the 2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown

The siege of Soyapango was a Salvadoran government operation to arrest criminal gang members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street gang in the city of Soyapango. The operation began on 3 December 2022 when Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 10,000 members of the country's security forces surrounded the city. As of January 2023 the active phase of the siege has been completed; however, security forces are still engaged in removing gang related symbols and the security setup in the area has been enhanced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism Confinement Center</span> Prison in El Salvador

The Terrorism Confinement Center is a maximum security prison located in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador. The prison was built from July 2022 to January 2023 amidst a large-scale gang crackdown; it was opened in January 2023 by President Nayib Bukele and received its first 2,000 prisoners in February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012–2014 Salvadoran gang truce</span> Government truce with gangs in El Salvador

From March 2012 to May 2014, the Salvadoran government, the Catholic Church, and the country's two largest criminal gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gang, came to a truce, known in El Salvador simply as the Gang Truce, to lower the country's rate of homicides and extortions in exchange for improved prison conditions and certain visitation privileges. The truce's principal negotiators were Minister of Public Security David Munguía Payés, former deputy Raúl Mijango, and Bishop Fabio Colindres, and the negotiations were overseen by President Mauricio Funes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blockade of the Cabañas Department</span> Salvadoran military operation

The military siege of the Cabañas Department is an ongoing military operation in El Salvador occurring as a part of the Salvadoran gang crackdown. On 1 August 2023, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 7,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) and 1,000 police officers of the National Civil Police (PNC) had surrounded the department of Cabañas to capture gang members within the department.

The Territorial Control Plan is an ongoing Salvadoran security and anti-gang program. The program consists of six phases and a potential seventh phase if phases one through six are unsuccessful. In 2019, the Salvadoran government estimated that the Territorial Control Plan would cost US$575.2 million in total.

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