El Salvador's Increasing Violence
The Los Angeles Times published an article today, titled "El Salvador grapples with rising bloodshed." The news story highlights the increasing level of violence in El Salvador, a country which suffers "one of the highest [homicide rates] in the world." El Salvador's per capita homicide rate is 5 times that of Mexico and 10 times that of the United States, with an average of 12 people killed each day in the first three months of 2009, in a country of 7 million people. Yet violence in Mexico has dominated the headlines this year. Much of this violence is attributed to gang violence, drug-fueled crime and abusive police officers, combined with a weak and "flawed judicial system whereby few if any killings are ever solved." The article notes that "one of El Salvador's leading human rights organizations ... has analyzed homicides every year since 2004 and concluded that hundreds were committed by rogue police officers, private security guards and people hired to carry out 'social cleansing' - the elimination of undesirables through extrajudicial executions." A new Salvadoran President-elect, Mauricio Funes, elected just two months ago after a campaign promising change, will face many important decisions about how to address the increase in violence when he takes office in June. The past administration's "iron fist" policies against gangs have increased violence, according to the LA Times, leading gangs to "strike anywhere - attacking, robbing, extorting, killing - because they need money to support their incarcerated associates and families." El Salvador is one of the countries funded by the United States' Mérida Initiative, which, in Central America, is intended to help tackle much of the increasing gang and drug violence through projects such as community development targeting youth, judicial reform, and strengthening the police force. Yet as the LA Times article shows, it is extremely important that the United States monitors the aid to ensure that it is not merely fueling increased impunity and human rights violations.