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Caribbean & Central America - September 2015 (ISSN 1741-4458)
EL SALVADOR: Mara gang conflict enters new phase
El Salvador’s violent conflict with mara street gangs took a significant twist in August, the bloodiest month since the compilation of murder statistics began after the civil war (1980-1992). The constitutional chamber of the supreme court issued a seminal ruling proclaiming that maras can be legally defined as terrorists and to all intents and purposes rendering gang membership a crime. The government led by President Salvador Sánchez Cerén celebrated the ruling; the ombudsman was joined by human rights groups in expressing fear that it could result in more abuses by the security forces. The government can see only short-term gains in terms of stiffer sentencing, but in the long-term the ruling could pose a real problem, marking a staging post in the maras acquiring belligerent status.
- A first for Guatemala as Pérez Molina resigns
- EL SALVADOR: Mara gang conflict enters new phase
- NICARAGUA: Cooperation with the US remains strong
- COSTA RICA: Government banks on tax hikes, not spending cuts
- PANAMA: Workers call off strike plans
- HONDURAS: Zelaya - anti impunity commission for Honduras “a state emergency”
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Corruption, crime and the economy take their toll
- GUYANA: Granger delivers on promises
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
- HAITI: 'A step forward despite some incidents'
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Sticking to its guns on migration policy