The failed strategy in El Salvador to contain the maras

A few days ago, El Salvador experienced one of the most serious waves of violence in its recent history. 87 murders were recorded by the authorities of that country during the past weekend, of which 62 occurred only on March 26. The government of President Nayib Bukele blamed gangs in the country for the homicides (especially the Mara Salvatrucha) and mobilized with a series of mandates to deal with criminality.

The entry into force of a state of emergency (with the support of Congress) and the new sentences that quintuple the prison time for members of the maras, demonstrate Bukele’s predilection “for the heavy hand.” However, analysts consulted by EL TIEMPO warn that the president’s iron fist tactic It has not been able to put a stop to the gangs, and rather they demonstrate a failed and worn out strategy to control a scourge that El Salvador has been dragging for years.

From the beginning of his government in 2019, Bukele launched the “territorial control plan”. This is a policy that contemplates the injection of money and support for the work of the police and the army to combat the gangs. Although homicides in the country have fallen during Bukele’s mandate (between 2019 and 2021, 2,985 were registered versus the 11,825 that occurred between 2014 and 2018), humanitarian organizations and analysts agree that the “territorial control plan” is fragile and not very transparent, which does not guarantee that waves of violence like those of last weekend cannot occur.

“There is a lot of noise about fighting crime and little substance. Bukele promised to reduce violence, but for those of us who work in human rights, the territorial plan is not transparent. And what has become clear (with the recent wave of violence) is that the strategy is unsuccessful (…). And now increasing punitive populism, penalties without respecting the rule of law, is a desperate response. If the strategy had been successful, this would not be happening. All of the above failed and there was no way to prevent it.”Carolina Jiménez, president of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs (Wola), told this newspaper.

In fact, in the past there was talk of a supposed plan between the government and the maras, which generated rejection in the country for advancing agreements without public opinion knowing about them. Jiménez says that if there was indeed a pact, as independent media reported at the time, it was a fragile agreement since the criminal actions of the gangs (such as recruitment, sexual violence and criminal presence) they remain social problems of great importance.

But the criticism also comes from within his country. The former vice president and now general secretary of the opposition Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), Óscar Ortiz, told reporters that the government’s plan to take control of the gangs in the territories “does not exist”, and that it is only “a massive propaganda strategy”.

In Ortiz’s opinion, the rise in homicides in recent days “shows us that the criminal structure in El Salvador is still strong and with the ability to change the indicators on issues of violence when they want.”

“What is currently happening in the country shows (once again) that the alleged pact with the gangs exists, despite the fact that the government has flatly denied it. This is a measure that previous administrations would have used as well, and which has always threatened to produce volatile episodes of violence. With Bukele we have seen it three times. The last one was in November 2021, when in three days, 45 homicides were registered (…). This clearly indicates that something in the ‘negotiation’ with the gangs went wronga deal was breached or a concession was not given, ”Valeria Vásquez, an analyst at Control Risks in Central America, explained to EL TIEMPO.

‘jail or death

With the outbreak of violence, Bukele moved his bench in Congress to approve the state of exception, which has been in force since last Sunday and will be in force for three more weeks. This implies that the right to be informed is restricted, the reason for an arrest and to have a lawyer from the moment of capture, and enables the term of administrative detention to be extended for more than 72 hours. With this, so far more than 3,000 people have been arrested.

“The question here is if the government knows where the gang members are, why not arrest them first? Why wait for a spike in violence? Vasquez questioned. But, in addition, in the middle of the week a package of criminal reforms came into effect, approved on Wednesday by Congress and which include prison for minors, measures that mark the route that the Bukele government decided to take against the gangs.

The eight reforms were approved without study or parliamentary discussion and modify regulations such as the Criminal Code, the Juvenile Criminal Law, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Antiterrorism Law. The amendment to the Penal Code establishes that belonging to a gang will be judged as illicit groups with sentences of 20 to 30 years, while its leaders or financiers will face sentences of 40 to 45 years.

Until before this reform, the members of the maras faced sentences of between 3 and 5 years in prison, and leaders of 6 to 9 years. The Antiterrorism Law established that belonging to a gang will be prosecuted as the crime of terrorist groups with sentences of 15 to 20 years and 30 to 40 years for the leaders. Previously, sentences ranged from 8 to 12 years for members and 10 to 15 for ringleaders.

The Congress, with an official majority, also approved an amendment to the Juvenile Criminal Law that establishes prison sentences for minors over 12 years of age. Adolescents may receive sentences of up to 10 years in prison, while those who have served 16 years would be sentenced to up to 20 years.

President Bukele posted a video of imprisoned gang members on his Twitter account and called on parents to show it to their children. “Show this video to your teenagers, explain to them that joining the gang only has two exits: prison or deathwrote.

These measures have been criticized by international organizations, which since Bukele assumed power have criticized him for concentrating power in the country and not respecting the separation of powers. By the way, a group of 70 humanitarian organizations warned that the emergency regime approved in El Salvador and the president’s attacks against human rights defenders “facilitates state abuses.”

The organizations indicated that the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice indicates that “an increase in crime, although it may be an emergency, does not fit into those assumptions” that allow decreeing the exceptional regime. In addition, they pointed out that “The Government has not fulfilled its duty to protect life and the physical integrity of people, despite the sustained increase in the budget invested in public security.”

Carolina Jiménez, from Wola, insists that El Salvador must promote approaches and programs for the prevention of violence and support for young people to ensure they don’t end up being recruited into gangs. “Promoting independent prosecutors and an autonomous justice system to ensure that crimes do not go unpunished and guarantee non-repetition can be a more effective strategy than the same massive security operations,” he added.

However, in the streets the situation is different and Popular support for the president remains broad. In December, 85 percent of Salvadorans said they approved of Bukele’s management, according to a morning poll The printing press. Many, like Ángel Mendoza, 48, support his latest measures. This vendor from San Salvador says he feels “safe” with the deployment of more police and soldiers in the capital.

“I don’t see any problems with what they approved,” he said, referring to the exception regime. “It favors us because we are safer.” For Ramón Hernández, a 54-year-old private security guard, the government’s actions against the gangs “should be supported.” “You have to give them a stick” to the gang members, Held. “The government is there to protect.”

CARLOS JOSE REYES*
International Writing
* With information from AFP and Efe