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Weekly Report - 04 May 2017 (WR-17-17)

EL SALVADOR: Homicides falling fast but for how long?

The number of homicides in El Salvador fell by 60% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, according to the supreme court’s Instituto de Medicina Legal (IML). The government once again attributed the decline in homicides to the ‘extraordinary measures’ it rolled out in April 2016 to crack down on the country’s mara street gangs. Two recent developments, however, could have a significant impact on homicide figures going forward. Firstly, there are signs that deportations of mara gang members from the US are set to increase sharply under the present administration of President Donald Trump. This could lead to an upsurge in violence in El Salvador. Secondly, the government led by President Salvador Sánchez Cerén is intent on legalising ‘self-defence’ groups, endangering the lives of members of the public by setting communities against the mara gangs.

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