One year into President Salvador Sanchez Ceren's term, the country's security situation worsens. In May, 635 Salvadorans were murdered, an average of 20.5 per day.
Most of the killings came during turf battles involving gang members mixed up in drug trafficking and extortion rackets, officials said Tuesday. Authorities described a deliberate attempt by criminal organizations to ramp up violence as a means of pressure.
Justice Minister Benito Lara also blamed gang reaction to recent transfers of 2,600 jailed gang members, including a number of capos who were sent to a maximum-security prison and lost many benefits they had previously enjoyed in other lock-ups.
National police director Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde said 60 percent of the victims were criminals killed by rival gangs or by colleagues in the same criminal group.
Unfortunately, June has started off even worse with 38 deaths on June 1. The year end rate is likely to be much worse than that estimated after the first four months of the year.
In other news, Gains in Education and Poverty Reduction Continue During Salvadoran President's First Year in Office and Salvadoran President Emphasizes Social Gains in 1st Year Speech. These are real improvements, if true, but hard to see how they are going to be sustainable amidst the current violence.
El Salvador has also signed onto a multilateral convention to fight tax evasion.
Fortunately, the economy looks to be growing again. Sanchez Ceren envisions growth to arrive at 2.5% in 2015 which is still rather poor even if it is better than it has been the last few years.
I'm going to be in El Salvador for two weeks in July. Shoot me an email if you are interested in meeting up.
Most of the killings came during turf battles involving gang members mixed up in drug trafficking and extortion rackets, officials said Tuesday. Authorities described a deliberate attempt by criminal organizations to ramp up violence as a means of pressure.
Justice Minister Benito Lara also blamed gang reaction to recent transfers of 2,600 jailed gang members, including a number of capos who were sent to a maximum-security prison and lost many benefits they had previously enjoyed in other lock-ups.
National police director Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde said 60 percent of the victims were criminals killed by rival gangs or by colleagues in the same criminal group.
Unfortunately, June has started off even worse with 38 deaths on June 1. The year end rate is likely to be much worse than that estimated after the first four months of the year.
In other news, Gains in Education and Poverty Reduction Continue During Salvadoran President's First Year in Office and Salvadoran President Emphasizes Social Gains in 1st Year Speech. These are real improvements, if true, but hard to see how they are going to be sustainable amidst the current violence.
El Salvador has also signed onto a multilateral convention to fight tax evasion.
Fortunately, the economy looks to be growing again. Sanchez Ceren envisions growth to arrive at 2.5% in 2015 which is still rather poor even if it is better than it has been the last few years.
I'm going to be in El Salvador for two weeks in July. Shoot me an email if you are interested in meeting up.
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