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| elsalvador.com |
El Salvador's government on Wednesday said it would charge gang members who attack police and military personnel under anti-terrorism laws, which impose longer prison sentences, to crack down on rising homicides in the poor Central American nation.
Justice Minister Ricardo Perdomo blamed a faction of the country's Barrio 18 gang for ordering attacks against government troops, saying there had been 60 so far this year.I don't necessarily have a problem with imposing stiffer penalties on individuals, whether connected to a gang or not, who assault and/or kill security officials. I'm just not a fan of having them fall under the country's anti-terrorism laws - the same laws, I believe, that were used by ARENA to round up anti-water privatization protesters in Suchitoto in 2007.
While attacks by gangs against the police are up over 50 percent, not all police appear to be the target of the gangs. In Santa Ana, officers arrested one of their own for drunk driving. The officer was arrested along with his four driving companions - all allegedly members of the Barrio 18 gang.
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