The El Salvadoran Government Adopted - 985 Words

The El Salvadoran government adopted its first comprehensive legislation to combat MS-13 and other street gangs in 2003. The measures provided were colloquially referred to as Mano Dura or Firm Hand. The government felt that that they had waited long enough to take action against the increasing threat of gang activity and would now meet the challenge head on with brutal tactics. The first Ley Anti-Mara was immediately controversial. It criminalized gang association, allowing El Salvadoran police forces to arrest and imprison suspected gang members on the spot. The law also allowed the courts to try suspected gang members under the age of eighteen as adults. Moreover, the Ley Anti-Mara spells out a list of criminal offenses such as harassing a person on neighborhood streets in a threatening manner, fighting in groups of two or more in a public setting, and communicating or identifying themselves with maras by way of signs or tattoos. These anti-mara measures were as ephemeral as they were controversial. Within a year of its passage, the El Salvadoran Supreme Court ruled that the measures were unconstitutional, arguing that it violated domestic and international law to try minors as adults, gave cases of non-gang related homicide less significance, and violated the presumption that those being tried were guilty before they had a chance to argue their case. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled against the anti-mara measures, the government passed a second LeyShow MoreRelatedThe Massacre At El Mozote1519 Words   |  7 Pagesdays of mid-December in 1981, the Salvadoran military slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children who they believed were accessories to the left-wing guerrilla group that was waging war against the government. Mark Danner, in the book The Massacre at El Mozote, addresses the bloodbath through the stories of survivors and guerrilla members that witnessed it as well as questioning government officials from both the El Salvadoran and the United States government. During that time period, there wereRead MorePost-Transitional Justice in Chile and El Salvador: A Comparison1671 Words   |  7 Pagesin Chile and El Salvador, where human rights abuses were rampant during Pinochet’s dictatorship and the Salvadoran civil war. The region is still dealing with the legacy of terror from its authoritarian past. Cath Collins, a professor and researcher in the School of Political Science at the University of Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, runs a project mapping recent human rights trials in Chile. A recent book by Collins, Post-Transitional Justice: Human Rights Trials in Chile and El Salvador, describesRead MoreThe Conflict Resolution : Peace2586 Words   |  11 Pagesis the Central American country of El Salvador. Today El Salvador is the most dangerous country in the world outside a war zone. The gang plagued country s problems can be traced back to its deadly 12 year civil war that occurred from 1980 to 1992. There is no definite explanation as to why El Salvador still suffers tremendously from the lasting effects of the civil war, but a lot can be traced to outside intervention in the conflict. The United States government played a huge role in the civil warRead MoreThe Conflict Resolution : Peace1927 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Central American country of El Salvador. Today El Salvador is the most dangerous country in the world outside a warzone. The gang plagued country s problems can be traced back to its deadly 12 year civil war that occurred from 1980 to 1992. There is no definite explanation as to why El Salvador still suffers tremendously from the lasting effects of the civil war but a lot can be traced to outside state involvement in the conflict. The United States government played a huge role in the civilRead MorePre Semester Response : U.s. Dollar As Ficial Form Of Currency Essay1409 Words   |  6 Pagescurrency exchange is very limited, I believe that it was beneficial for El Salvador to adopt the US dollar as their official form of currency. As CNN’s article states, millions of dollars were sent to banks to familiarize themselves with green backs, so it is not as though the shift was unexpected or ill warned. With their economy already being familiar with our currency, taking in an average of â€Å"$4 million a day† alone from Salvadorans living in the US, there does not seem to be anything that would seeminglyRead MoreInnocent Voices2621 Words   |  11 Pagestin and wood, but it is home to the little family at the beginning of the war when the father deserted them for the United States. Chava is now the man of the house. With increasing frequency the guerillas (the independent military who fights the government military) and soldiers engage in battle at night, regardless of the people who live all around. The homes are damaged by gunfire and mortar and many of the town’s people are killed. Chava and his sister go to school in the town and one day soldiersRead MoreGrowing the Small Country of El Salvador718 Words   |  3 PagesEl Salvador is the smallest country in Central America; most of the country is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft high. The people of El Salvador use the land for raising crops, building cities, and are very skillful weavers. El Salvador remained a Spanish colony for around 300 years. It was taken over by Europeans in the 1500’s. Before the Spanish conquest, which was an invasion from the Spaniards to the native people; one of the earliest groups of settlers was a group of indigenous peopleRead MoreEssay Obstacles That Weaken Democracy 1652 Words   |  7 PagesDemocracy is defined as a government that is governed by the people, where the supreme power is in the hands of the people and is exercised through a system of representation done through free elections. It is easily defined and understood, but the true test is to follow through the people’s expectations and be capable to overcome obstacles a democracy might face. Mexico has recently celebrated its bicentennial representing their independence and the centennial of their revolution, although theyRead More Reagan Administrations Foreign Policy in Latin America Essay1881 Words   |  8 Pagesregime in the Western Hemisphere would have dire and perilous implications for U.S. national security and for the global distribution of power. It was therefore crucial to resist this possibility by any means necessary in countries such as Grenada, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. The 1st Prime Minister of Grenada was Eric Mathew Gairy, an energetic, charismatic, and ultimately egomaniacal leader with personal interest in self-aggrandizement and unidentified flying objects. The opposition of Gairy’sRead MoreGang Violence And Organized Crime Essay1966 Words   |  8 PagesGang violence and organized crime have become a serious problem for El Salvador and Central America for the past decade. Gang violence is an enormous problem in El Salvador especially among young people with an estimate of 60,000 minors belonging to gangs. According to government organization Instituto de Medicina Legal, the country has the highest murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean with 103 murders per 100,000 person. High rates of violence are contributed by competition between rival