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1. A Remedy for El Salvador’s Prison Fever

Author:
International Crisis Group
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Following a spate of murders, the Salvadoran government ordered mass roundups of suspected criminal gang members, throwing more than 53,000 in jail. The clampdown is popular but unsustainable. Authorities should develop a path out of gang life that members can choose.
Topic:
Crime, Governance, Police, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America, North America, and El Salvador

2. The State of Exception: Gangs as a Neoliberal Scapegoat in El Salvador

Author:
Leisy Abrego and Steven Osuna
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
On 26 March 2022, gangs in the small Central American country of El Salvador killed 62 people, making it the deadliest day in modern Salvadoran history.1 In the span of just three days, between 25 and 27 March, there were a total of 87 seemingly random murders of people laboring and commuting in El Salvador. In line with the common political practice since the 1990s, Salvadoran politi- cians zeroed in on punishing gangs, whom they have blamed for all social ills. Indeed, the brutal intercommunal violence of gangs is horrifying and dehuman- izing in ways that permeate everyday life for large swaths of Salvadoran society. 3ese realities make gangs particularly visible and therefore politically useful for the ruling elite, who can and frequently do turn to gangs as a distraction from their own corruption. 3e proliferation of gangs and violence, however, was not inevitable, and a political and media focus solely on gangs misses the larger picture. Gangs, and the social conditions surrounding them in El Salvador, are ultimately a symptom of a larger root problem: neoliberal capitalism. To best understand the conditions of the present moment, we trace how neoliberalism developed in El Salvador, why it has thrived across party lines, how it is fueling the actions of this particular Salvadoran administration, and how a growing grassroots cross-border movement is resisting it.
Topic:
Neoliberalism, Violence, Organized Crime, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America and El Salvador

3. Fighting Gangs to Dismantle Democracy: How Anti-Crime Policies Have Contributed to the Authoritarian Drift in Central America

Author:
José‐​Luis Cruz
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
For several years, the northern countries of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—have seen some of the highest levels of criminal violence globally. 5ey are also ground zero for two of the most brutal street gangs in the Western Hemisphere: the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18). Di6erent government administrations have imple- mented various policies to address gangs and criminal violence; however, no policy has been more controversial or frequently used than the zero-tolerance, or mano dura (iron fist), crackdowns. Zero-tolerance crackdowns were introduced at different moments in all three countries but have been a dominant feature of state response to crime in Central America in the last two decades. In this essay, I examine the latest installment of hard-on-crime policies in El Salvador and how they contributed to the democratic erosion of the country. This case exemplifies how Central American governments have repeatedly used the fight against crime as a justification to strengthen security forces without oversight, ignore human rights standards, and leverage the justice system to serve corrupt government officials.
Topic:
Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America

4. Gang Violence as Organized Violence: Implications for the WPS Index

Author:
Mariana Viollaz and Jeni Klugman
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
In this note, we experiment with potential improvements on the measurement of violence in the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index to better reflect the reality on the ground in countries experiencing high levels of gang violence. First, we propose an extension to the measure of conflict from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program—currently the most comprehensive measure of organized violence—by including a more accurate number of deaths associated with gang violence alongside “battle deaths.” We show what difference this would make to WPS Index rankings for a set of four Central American countries and Mexico.
Topic:
Security, Women, Violence, Peace, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America and Mexico

5. Gang Violence as Armed Conflict: A New Perspective on El Salvador

Author:
Anne Applebaum and Briana Mawby
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Gang violence is usually considered a criminal rather than a conflict issue. This limits the international community’s willingness to mitigate the violence or provide humanitarian aid. In a new GIWPS policy brief, Anna Applebaum and Briana Mawby argue that widespread gang violence, as found in El Salvador, should be considered a new form of armed conflict. The policy brief documents the impact of pervasive gang violence, which is increasingly similar to experiences of war—including high numbers of civilian casualties and significant migration flows. It also makes the case for a focus on gender to strengthen prevention of and responses to gang violence. As in more conventional conflicts, men often hold the most prominent roles in gangs and in the state response. But women frequently serve as care providers for gang members, and they are increasingly involved in tasks related to transporting weapons or drugs. Violence against women is also a specific tactic used by gangs for control over communities. Due to the high levels of gender-based violence, which gangs contribute to, women make up an increasing proportion of those fleeing. Once gang violence is understood as a security issue as well as a criminal phenomenon, it becomes clear that the WPS agenda is relevant.
Topic:
Women, Conflict, Violence, Peace, Gangs, and Gender
Political Geography:
Central America and El Salvador