02-04-2025, 09:41 AM
https://gwjusticejournal.com/2024/06/21/truces-to-terror-bukeles-legacy-of-gangs-and-mass-incarceration-in-el-salvador/
Truces to Terror: Bukele’s Legacy of Gangs and Mass Incarceration in El Salvador
Sofia Ramirez June 21, 2024
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Image Credits: @mauriciocuellar on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
In 2012, Nayib Bukele won the mayoral election in Nuevo Cuscatlán, a small municipality in El Salvador, as a part of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), which is a left-wing political party. That same year, the FMLN organized a pact with the two biggest gangs in El Salvador: MS-13 and Barrio-18. This truce was formulated secretly, as negotiating with gangs is a highly controversial issue that could result in public backlash. The agreement allowed for the gangs to have around thirty members moved from the Zacatecoluca Security Penitentiary Center to state prisons in exchange for a lower homicide rate. As a result, the murder rate in the coming weeks dropped, with the average of daily murders dropping from fourteen to six. This “truce” was quickly revealed by Salvadorian journalists and exposed to the public. The Minister of Justice and Public Security, David Munguía Payés, denied any agreements with MS-13 and Barrio 18, claiming that the homicide rates dropping were from the work of the National Civil Police. The government chose to continue denying any alleged truces that came up in the media.
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