Sarah Kinosian
As the war continues to rage, the fight against the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs has often taken center stage. However, the security landscape in El Salvador is more complex than a battle between gangs and security forces.
In an attempt to understand the different sources and dynamics of violence, the Center for International Policy and the Latin America Working Group Education Fund traveled to El Salvador late last year. We interviewed journalists, analysts, government officials, judges, police officers, citizens, activists, humanitarian workers, diplomats, and academics. Our report, coming in a series of posts over the next week will lay out El Salvador’s current security situation and provide recommendations for U.S. policy.
The latest bills from Congress cut back on President Obama’s aid request while increasing military assistance. Here is an update of current funding proposals for Central America.
Looking at the timeline of arrests, extraditions and deals in recent months, it looks like the United States was moving to make the case against El Chapo completely airtight, allowing Mexico to detain him until U.S. officials were completely ready to make the official extradition request.
According to El Heraldo newspaper, the President of Honduras told U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) that the country’s military would continue to have a role in law enforcement, but would be pulled off the streets in “two to three years,” an overall strategy the senator seemed to support.
A recent article in the Mexican newspaper, Milenio, highlighted the significant amount of military training the United States is providing to Mexican security forces.
In the span of less than one week, Mexican security forces captured two of the most notorious and feared drug cartel leaders in the country. But does the Drug War tactic known as the Kingpin Strategy, a policy supported by the U.S. government and supplemented by billions of dollars in U.S. aid, actually make Mexico safer?
Last December, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) and Center for International Policy (CIP) traveled to Honduras for a first-hand look. What we found was a security situation in shambles and a country in dire need of reform. We have compiled our findings into this report which paints a picture of the most alarming issues facing Honduras today, including mass migration, the disturbing and highly visible militarization of law enforcement, grave threats against human rights defenders, and a lack of an effective and independent justice system. The report also examines the role U.S. assistance has played, and can play, in the plight of the Honduran people.
This week Joe Biden took a two-day trip to meet with various leaders and organizations from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The goal was to emphasize the United States’ commitment to a proposed $1 billion aid package to help fund the Plan for the Alliance for Prosperity in the North Triangle, as well as discuss specifics and particular strategies to address chronic poverty, crime and corruption. The Plan for the Alliance for Prosperity in the North Triangle is designed to entice foreign investment, increase infrastructure and improve citizen security in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.