El Salvador is a small country in Central America. It was once the world's worstmurder rateIn 2019-2020, the country will have a record number ofHomicide rate cut in halfThe question is: What happened in El Salvador? What exactly happened in El Salvador? This article will explore.

Armed police officers (Photo: Presidencia El Salvador / Wikimedia Commons[)CC0 1.0])

Why were so many murders happening?

In El Salvador, which has been called the murder capital of the world, 2015,6,656 caseshomicides in El Salvador. Translating this into a homicide rate for El Salvador as a whole, we see that approximately 116 people per 100,000 people are victims of homicide, more than 17 times the global average. This high homicide rate is attributed to a number of factors, including the presence of gangs rooted in the country's poor communities, a history of conflict that has continued until recent years, and the country's status as a transit point for the international trade in illegal drugs. Let's take a look at the reasons why there are so many murders in El Salvador.

El Salvador was a Spanish colony from the 16th century, when Columbus reached the great American power; in the early 1800s, after gaining independence from Spain as part of the Mexican Empire, it separated from Mexico, along with other Central American countries, as the Federation of Central America. Later, it became independent from the federation as the Republic of El Salvador, forming the current state.

The economy of El Salvador has developed mainly through coffee production, and since the country's independence, the landowners and oligarchs have been in power, resulting in economic disparities and conflicts. In 1959, a successful revolution in the neighboring country of Cuba led to the birth of a socialist state, and in 1972, an anti-government conflict began in El Salvador. At that time, the world was in the midst of a Cold War between the socialist Soviet Union and the capitalist United States. The Soviet Union provided support to leftist guerrillas and other groups in order to take advantage of the political instability in El Salvador. The Soviet Union wanted to strengthen its power against the pro-U.S. military regime in the Central American region, where the influence of the U.S. was so strong that it was called the "backyard of the United States. The U.S. responded by stepping up its support for the pro-U.S. regime, accelerating the conflict in El Salvador.70,000 peopleThe conflict was so massive that the deaths of Military support from the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the various camps escalated the conflict and impoverished the people. In addition, the conflict caused problems such as the destruction of infrastructure, industrial devastation, and an increase in the number of war orphans and juvenile soldiers. Even after the end of the Cold War, when the U.S. and Soviet Union no longer intervened, democracy was not functioning and politics wasdecayThe two parties have been working together since the end of the conflict. Since the end of the conflict, it has alternated between two parties, the pro-American National Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), composed of former leftist guerrillas, leaving the U.S.-Soviet conflictThe administration has a monopolyThe country was in a state of instability. Crime in the country was not being addressed, and government institutions were riddled with corruption. Many customs officials were involved in drug smuggling.

Based on a map from Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0]

In addition to this domestic instability, the influx of gang members expelled from the U.S. in the 1990s into El Salvador was one of the factors driving the rising homicide rate. They organized in California, known as MS-13 (*1) and 18th Street (*2).gangsterMany of them were refugees from El Salvador during the conflict in that country. Many of them were refugees from El Salvador who came to the U.S. during the conflict and joined local gangs, which grew in strength and became an organization. After the end of the conflict in El Salvador, Pete Wilson, then governor of California, began deporting immigrants as a countermeasure to the gangs' growing power and criminality, which led to the rise of gangs in El Salvador. As a result, the gangs that streamed into the country in the 1990s are now, some 30 years later, the municipality'sApprox. 90and their families and those who would cooperate with them in some way, out of a population of about 6.5 million,Approximately 500,000 peopleIt exists. This is about 25,000 police and military personnel in El SalvadorApprox. 13,000The number of people who have been killed by these men is in excess of 1,000. They have been responsible for many murders and have repeatedly extorted money from citizens and small businesses, as well as sexual crimes. In particular, money taken from citizens and local businesses accounts for 80% of the gang's funding,Approx. 3% of GDPThe amount of money involved is estimated to be as much as $3.5 billion. Even more problematic is the fact that young people are being gangsolicitationThe first step is to be made and join the group. In El Salvador, there are many children who have lost their social ties due to the conflict, who have been left behind by immigrant parents due to the subsequent economic instability, and who have also lost their parents in the conflict. The gangs approach these lonely young people in such circumstances, recruit them, and draw them into their ranks.

Also this El Salvador,Drug trafficking transit pointThis is one of the main reasons for homicides. Cocaine and other drugs grown in South American countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia are transported by drug smuggling groups to North America via Central America, including El Salvador. The homicide rate is driven up by the conflicts among these drug smuggling groups, the police, and the military, as well as turf wars involving drug trafficking by gangs. Numerous cases have been reported of military, police, judicial, and other officials being bought off by smuggling gangs, and local residents are often abused and even killed by these gangs.

The city at night (Photo: Pixabay ［Photo: PixabayPixabay Licence])

As described above, in addition to the economic disparity that has existed in El Salvador since the country's independence, problems such as unstable politics and the existence of criminal organizations have accumulated. The overwhelming lack of security caused by these factors is thought to have contributed to the high homicide rate.

Conventional responses to gangs, drug organizations, and other criminals

Until now, the government has been against these gangs since Francisco Flores, who served as president from 1999 to 2004,Mano dura (iron fist) policymeasures have been taken. This policy included increased police investigations in gang-dominated areas and harsher penalties for gang suspects. Even more distinctive was the authorization of arrests of gang suspects based solely on their appearance. This policy encouraged police and security forces to ignore human rights against gang members and suspected gang members, leading to indiscriminate mass detentions and excessive use of force. This led to the worst of all worlds: gang killings by the police in defiance of the law. Adding to the problem was prison overcrowding: as of September 2013, El Salvador's prisons had about three times as many inmates as they could hold. The prison could not manage so many inmates, and gang wars in the overcrowded prisons, such as MS-13 and 18th Street, resulted in many deaths, forcing the prison authorities to house gangs in different prisons for different organizations. However, having members of the same gang housed in the same prison not only strengthened their unity, but also allowed gang leaders to communicate with gangs outside the prison via cell phones and other means to continue their activities. And gangs on the outside, under instruction, increasingly resisted the police, resulting in many deaths. Hence, the iron fist policy, when the policy was first enacted, was not implemented until 2004, when murders were14% (%)reduction and succeeded in lowering the country's homicide rate, but by 2006 the homicide rate had64.7 per 100,000This was only a short-term achievement, with an increase in the number of

Police and citizens (Photo: Presidencia El Salvador / Flickr[)CC0 1.0])

Inauguration of Najib Bukele as President

Mr. Najib Boukelehwas sworn in as president of El Salvador in June 2019, amid a spike in murders under former FMLN President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, who served as president from 2014 to 2019. During the five years of Cheren's administration, El Salvador23,000 peoplehave lost their lives due to murder. Despite the fact that Najib Bukele assumed the presidency under these worst circumstances, he will have one year from June 2019 to May 2020 to51.3% compared to the previous yearThe company has succeeded in halving the homicide rate to

President Buquere is a young entrepreneur born in San Salvador who became a politician when he ran for and won the 2012 mayoral election in the city of Nuevo Cuscatlan, La Libertad province, near the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador. He then joined the FMLN and was elected mayor of San Salvador in 2015, and ran for president in 2019 amid growing public distrust of the government due to corruption committed by former presidents Antonio Saca and Mauricio Funes. Bucure won the presidency by proposing to stabilize relations between the FMLN and ARENA, strengthen cooperation between the security forces, police, and the government, and increase the budgets of the ministries of justice and public security.

President Bucheret first tried to change the murderous situation at the time.Improving Security PoliciesThe project has set forth the following. It advocated a review of working conditions to improve conditions in prisons, strategies to strengthen law and order, more police to be deployed in rural areas and other places away from cities, the formation of police battalions to operate in prisons, and the creation of an international commission to fight corruption. Crime prevention through security also includes assisting young people caught up in gang activity and those whose lives have been affected by gangs and other criminals.

In addition, the key policies that contributed to the halving of the homicide rate includeterritorial management planThere is a The plan focuses primarily on 22 priority municipalities and the long-term deployment of police and military patrols. Measures were also taken to strengthen the organizational capacity of the security forces in case of conflicts with the gangs. The plan is also iron fist in nature. The government has issued statements to gang members on the outside that if they do not reduce their violence, they will lock up their friends in prisons in rooms with no sunlight, or put rival gangs in the same room with each other. For those gangs that did not comply, the measures were actually implemented.

President Najib Boukere (Photo: Presidencia El Salvador / Flickr[)CC0 1.0])

In addition to measures against gangs that are currently active, measures are being taken to prevent young people from joining gangs by providing financial support, fulfilling scarce employment opportunities, and offering opportunities for participation in sports and recreation. For example, government-sponsored soccer camps, job training, and scholarships have been offered. One of the most important plans is to provide poor, violence-ridden communities with glass-fronted, cube-shaped "cubeThe plan is to build a center called The goal is to provide a safe space for entertainment and training for young people. This was actually a plan that had been implemented in the city since President Buquere was mayor of San Salvador. Now that he is president, he aims to implement this plan throughout El Salvador. The government plans to build at least 50 cubes, with priority given to poor neighborhoods with strong gang influence. 2018 saw the first cubes built in San Salvador. But since he became president, the plan has stalled. This is because of very high construction, maintenance, and labor costs.

Did President Buchere negotiate with the gang?

As President Boukeret's plan progresses and the homicide rate declines, certain doubts have arisen. We do not have a clear reason for this decrease in the murder rate. The territorial control plan, by its very nature, should take more time to produce results. El Salvador's Ministry of Justice and Public Security.dataAccording to the "Mere Old Man," the areas where territorial control plans have been implemented do not seem to mesh with the areas where homicides are declining. This raises the suspicion that there may have been informal negotiations and agreements between the gangs and the government. In fact, the 18th Street spokesperson (the person in charge of presenting the group's views) recentlyinterview (i.e. television, newspaper, etc.)Some claimed that there was an agreement between the gangs and the government to reduce homicides. However, the government reiterated that no such agreement existed, either publicly or secretly.denialIn fact, no clear evidence has emerged to support these claims.

While there is no evidence that President Buquere has negotiated with gangs in this way, El Salvador has negotiated with gangs in the past: in 2012, in exchange for gang commitments to reduce inter-gang homicides, civilian killings, and attacks on security forces, the government promised to transfer gang leaders from maximum security prisons to to transfer gang leaders to prisons with relatively lighter rules, and to create economic opportunities and social projects, such as jobs, for marginalized gang communities. After this agreement was reached, one day of murder was15 to 5and violence levels remained stable for 15 months. But several deficiencies became exposed. Although the official homicide rate declined during the agreement, the actual reduction in killingsSmaller than reportedPossibly. There was also an increase in disappearances during this period, suggesting that there were murders that the government was not aware of. One of the reasons for the failure to resolve the problem through dialogue with the gangs was the lack of alignment among various government agencies. Insufficient support from government agencies other than the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which led the process, prevented the government from addressing the gangs' demands other than prison transfer measures. After the agreement broke down, violence, including homicides, spiked to unprecedented levels, and the negotiated ceasefire failed.

Despite the background of the breakdown of agreements between the government and the gangs in the past and the increase in the murder rate, and despite the allegations that another agreement with the gangs has been made this time, President Bukerrehigh approval ratingshas remained the same. This may be due to the fact that the homicide rate is actually declining, whether or not gang involvement is involved with the president.

Daily life in El Salvador (Photo: Judklub / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0])

In order to reduce homicides.

Successful public negotiations with gangs could safely reduce homicides. In fact, a 2016 report by El Salvador's online news company, El Farointerview (i.e. television, newspaper, etc.)One of the key figures in MS-13 at the meeting stated that they would consider allowing the members to refrain from activities if they were in formal negotiations with the government.

However, there are legal barriers to negotiating with the gangs. If negotiations were to take place, the Supreme Court would need to overturn its 2015 ruling recognizing the gangs as a terrorist group, since negotiations with terrorist groups are not allowed in El Salvador. But legal experts in El Salvador say this would be very difficult because repealing the original ruling would require changing the law once adopted.state... Realistically speaking, it still seems difficult for negotiations between the gangs and the government to be publicly realized.

And no matter how much the government tries to reduce the number of murders by instituting policies against gangs, as long as El Salvador is a transit point for the international drug trade, gang presence and murders will not disappear. As a country, it is important for the government to take steps to reduce the use of some drugs, such as marijuana.Legalization and decriminalizationThe drug is currently traveling through North and South America, although the government is attempting to shift jurisdiction over drug smuggling from the illegal organizations to the administration through the

Decreasing El Salvador's high murder rate will prove to be quite a challenge. With gangs so deeply entrenched in the country, every system must be fundamentally revised. However, the emergence of an innovative president in the form of President Buquere has been a catalyst for change in El Salvador's long-standing and unchanging misery. And if we can change the situation, we can save the young people who will be responsible for the new future. We will be watching for new reforms in El Salvador in the years to come.

Cityscape of San Salvador (Photo: Rene Aguiluz / Flickr [])CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])

1 The Mara Salvatrucha is a large gang in Central America and the United States. There are several theories as to the origin of the name. Mara" comes from La Mara, a street in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. The word "Salvatrucha" is said to be derived from a term used during the training of FMLN soldiers in the El Salvadoran Civil War.

2 18th Street Gang.(18th Street Gang) A gang based in Los Angeles, USA. The name comes from the fact that 18th Street in Los Angeles was their territory.

Writer: Hikaru Kato

Graphic: Saki Takeuchi

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