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How gang violence is spreading fear in El Salvador
Description: Each gang has its own method of killing people making it distinctive. But a truce between gangs that reduced murder rates by 40%, crumbled sending murder rates soaring and putting everyone in El Salvador at risk.
Importance/Relevance: This is one of the first articles to highlights the importance the truce had on murder rates in El Salvador. In fact it says "In 2012, El Salvador's main gangs agreed a truce which initially reduced murder rates by 40%." -
El Salvador deems criminal gangs, including MS-13, 'terrorists'
Description: The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador has ruled that criminal gangs within the country will be considered terrorist groups.
Importance/Relevance: This was El Salvador's governments' real first step toward ridding the country of the bloodshed cause by the gangs. The article says that "The purpose of the law is to pursue criminal groups for their 'condition, and not only for the acts committed...'" -
The gangs of El Salvador: inside the prison the guards are too afraid to enter
Description: There is a prison in El Salvador that is designated for members of the MS-13 gang, and none of the guards will go inside because of how scared they are of the members of the jailed.
Importance/Relevance: This shows the power that the gangs have over the police over there. The article says "It is guarded outside by the army, but inside, the 2,600 inmates (in a prison built for 800) have free run of the squalid facility, because the guards are too scared to enter." -
El Salvador's gangland
Description: The government’s "mano dura", or heavy handed approach, is winning fans among people tired of the murders that have turned El Salvador into the world's deadliest country not at war. But critics say it’s threatening civil liberties and causing even more insecurity.
Importance/Relevance: The article says "In El Salvador, gangs are considered terrorists police can shoot without consequences." This shows the measures to which police are willing to go to stop gang violence. -
Digital Tough Guys
Description: The many gangs within El Salvador are waging a war that has caused bloodshed that shows no sign of letting up. Leaders of these gangs were able to order hits on rival gangs by using cell phones to text others about plans to murder someone.
Importance/Relevance: The fact that gang leaders are in jail and being allowed to use cell phones is crazy. "...Salvadoran officials began blocking phone coverage and Internet." The line from the article shows how bad the problem had gotten.
