News around El Salvador

The Center for Democracy in the Americas released its always informative monthly newsletter on El Salvador. The April report includes details on President-elect Salvador Sanchez Ceren regional and international tour following his March victory.

Jamie Stark has a story on the Salvadoran media's use of drones to cover media events. I first read about drones in El Salvador during the elections but it looks like they are becoming more widespread. In some ways, these drones just carry out jobs that many of us in the US are used to seeing covered by helicopters - aerial shots of traffic jams, fires, and outdoor events. On the other hand, like anything, they have the potential for abuse.

According to UNICEF, 6,300 minors were killed in El Salvador between 2005 and 2013. Of the 984 children and adolescents killed between 2012 and 2013, 82% were males between 15 and 19.

Patricia Guadalupe has a write-up on what Salvadoran journalists Carlos Martínez and José Luis Sanz are hoping to accomplish in their book on “Crónicas negras: Desde una región que no cuenta” (Dark Stories: From a Region That Doesn’t Count).

The book tells 18 stories of how regional governments have embraced the culture of violence as a way of life. And gang violence and the gang culture is just a part of the problem.

“Different types of violence continue to be the method of political dialogue in Central America,” Sanz said. “And many turn a blind eye to it, such as domestic violence, violence against children, against women. We can talk about gang violence forever, but until we deal with the other types of violence, Central America will continue to express itself with violence.”

Working to reduce gang violence and/or violence associated with drug trafficking will help, but the problems really go deeper to all levels of society.

A Salvadoran judge issued an arrest warrant for former President Francisco Flores of ARENA. His whereabouts are unknown but there are rumors that he might be seeking asylum in Panama. Should the attorney general's office and the FMLN "simply" pursue corruption charges against former government officials? Perhaps they can find agreement with individuals and groups on the right that pursuing postwar crimes and strengthening the country's judicial institutions would benefit a majority of the Salvadoran people. Any serious attempt to investigate and prosecute individuals for wartime crimes might disrupt such an effort and set back efforts at holding people accountable for wartime and postwar crimes. I'm not sure this is the case yet but obviously I am thinking about what has transpired in neighboring Guatemala.