InfoAnda - El Salvador's gang truce cuts murder rate |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Black Raspberries May Prevent Colon Cancer | 3 November 2010
James Patterson's Maximum Ride airborne again | | 27 April 2010
Malaysia slashes spending in 2010 budget | 24 October 2009

Fatah endorses Abbas as party leader | 9 August 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : El Salvador's gang truce cuts murder rate |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. See more Images of June Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Comic-Con fans journey to Middle Earth with "Hobbit" 14 Jul 2012 U.S. Air Force tests biofuel at $59 per gallon 3:36am EDT Artist erases halo over Joe Paterno on Pennsylvania mural 14 Jul 2012 China frigate heads home, averts new Philippines row 12:04am EDT Clinton backs Egypt army return to security role 14 Jul 2012 Discussed 121 Texas governor rejects two provisions of health law 114 Russia’s Putin says the West is on the decline 106 Obama team targets Romney over taxes, Republicans cry foul Watched Hollande celebrates Bastille day Sat, Jul 14 2012 Tons of marijuana discovered in Mexico Fri, Jul 13 2012 Large solar flare signals weekend disruptions on Earth Fri, Jul 13 2012 Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Inside San Quentin A look inside San Quentin prison, California's oldest correctional facility and home to the state's only gas chamber. Slideshow When lightning strikes Dramatic images of electrical storms. Slideshow El Salvador's gang truce cuts murder rate Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Under siege: 'Stop and frisk' polarizes New York Tue, Jul 3 2012 Mexico's old rulers return but without strong mandate Mon, Jul 2 2012 Mexico's drug war rocks U.S. expat stronghold Sun, Jun 17 2012 Analysis & Opinion Interfaith report: Poverty and injustice drive Nigeria’s sectarian violence Why the world needs an arms treaty Related Topics World » United Nations » 1 of 3. Gang members and inmates pose for a photograph at a prison in Quezaltepeque, on the outskirts of San Salvador June 2, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Ulises Rodriguez By Nelson Renteria QUEZALTEPEQUE, El Salvador | Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:31am EDT QUEZALTEPEQUE, El Salvador (Reuters) - Victor Garcia, alias 'The Duck,' at 39 has survived longer than most gang members in El Salvador, and has seen hundreds of his 'homies' killed by rivals over the years. The relentless tit-for-tat murders between El Salvador's two largest street gangs - "Calle 18" and "Mara Salvatrucha" - made the country the most murderous in the world last year after neighboring Honduras, also ravaged by gang violence. That was until Garcia, from the Calle 18 ("18th Street") gang, along with elders from the Mara Salvatrucha declared an unprecedented truce that authorities say has cut the homicide rate in half in just four months. "We've been through things that have changed us. It is a waste of life, those who have died in this conflict," said Garcia, a tattoo of a skeleton hand clutching his shaved head. Formed in the 1980s in the United States by Central American immigrants, many refugees from the region's civil wars, the gangs or "maras" grew into an international franchise when criminals were deported back home. They have grown dramatically in the last two decades and El Salvador alone has an estimated 64,000 gang members. Branches operate across Central America and in at least 42 states in the United States. The gangs deal drugs, run prostitution rings and protection rackets and carry out armed robberies. Many gang members cover their faces and bodies with menacing tattoos to prove their lifelong commitment. The turf wars are brutal, with gangs often targeting their rivals' family members. Tired of the cycle of revenge killings, gang leaders housed side by side with their enemies in a maximum security prison outside the capital of San Salvador decided to broker a deal. Garcia from the Calle 18 gang and Aristides Umanzor, aka "El Sirra," from the Mara Salvatrucha - each backed up by 15 of their top lieutenants - sought out a Catholic bishop and a former leftist congressman to serve as mediators. In March, they surprised the country by releasing a joint statement declaring an end to violence and pledging to freeze recruitment of new adolescent members, especially in poor neighborhoods and around schools. Since then, the change has been dramatic. Murder rates are down to around five a day from more than a dozen before the pact. On April 14, El Salvador recorded its first day in three years without a single murder. "We aren't demobilizing, we'll always be gangsters," Garcia said from a prison in Quezaltepeque where he is serving out a 28-year sentence. "But we are quitting crime little by little as long as we can find jobs and a chance to re-enter society." President Mauricio Funes, a leftist, insists his government did not cut any deals with the gangsters. But shortly before the truce was made public, 30 top gang leaders were transferred from maximum-security prisons to others with benefits like family visits. Garcia was transferred to Quezaltepeque, where prisoners enjoy some modest freedoms, although he still lives with 15 other men in a cell designed for six. U-TURN The government has lauded the truce and is trying to help its long-term success by working with business leaders to offer work and rehabilitation programs for gang members. It is a policy U-turn from the "iron fist" tactics used against the gangs for years in Central America. Under Funes' conservative predecessor, teenagers could be arrested just for sporting gang tattoos without having committed any crime, filling the jails to dangerous levels. "It was open hunting season on the gangs. We knew that if we didn't do something soon, this was never going to change," said Garcia. El Faro, an online newspaper in El Salvador, reported the truce was the result of a government deal with gangsters to stop the violence in exchange for better prison conditions and other favors, but the government denies that. Still, it hopes that, just as the rivalries crossed borders for decades, the message of peace from Garcia and his former enemies can now seep over to neighboring countries. "We want to share our experiences because we are seeing results," said El Salvador's defense minister, David Munguia, who recently met with his counterparts in Guatemala and Honduras to discuss regional crime-fighting strategies. "We would like it to be replicated elsewhere but always considering the specific circumstances in the different countries." The head of the Organization of American States, or OAS, went to El Salvador last week to meet with gang members and to glean lessons for the rest of the region. A former journalist, Funes is the first president from the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, which was founded by Marxist guerrillas who fought in a 12-year-long civil war that killed 75,000 people. Peace accords were signed in 1992 but the political violence was quickly replaced with an explosion of gang warfare and violent crime, and the government says the recent truce is only part of the solution. "The gangs are still criminal organizations and we are still pursing them. ... We don't expect them to stop being delinquents overnight," Munguia said. NEIGHBORS ARE SKEPTICAL Officials and gangs in other countries are skeptical the success in El Salvador can spread. Guatemalan President Otto Perez, a retired general, took office in January on a campaign promise to clamp down on crime and just this week busted 40 gang members for extorting money from people in a neighborhood in the capital city. The groups run lucrative extortion schemes, demanding "war taxes" from local shop owners, bus drivers and private homes. They often kill those who don't pay up. "We are not willing to have a dialogue with 'maras'" Perez said earlier this year. "We are calling on them to stop committing crimes, but if they have already committed crimes, they must face the consequences." In Honduras, the deadliest country in the world according to the United Nations with an annual rate of 87 murders per 100,000 people, the sentiment is much the same. "We cannot negotiate with them," said Hector Suazo, director of Honduras' special investigations unit at the security ministry. "They manage large sums of money thanks to the drug trade. The kids are heavily armed and take over entire areas to extort and terrorize the population." One former member of the Mara Salvatrucha in Guatemala, who belonged to a local clique called "the crazies," is not convinced the calm in El Salvador will last. "There are a lot of lies on the street," he said, asking not to be named during an interview at the jail where he is locked up for homicide. "The homies say one thing and do another. They don't keep their word." (Additional reporting by Mike McDonald in Guatemala City and Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Kieran Murray; Desking by Todd Eastham) World United Nations Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Sunday, 15 July 2012
Exclusive: Red Cross ruling raises questions of Syrian war crimes |
German court must decide on rescue fund by Sept: Juncker |
France's Hollande vows to fight job cuts, graft |
Man self-immolates at Israel cost-of-living protest |
Sudans' leaders hold first talks since April clashes |
Analysis: U.N.'s Iran atom probe hostage to big power diplomacy |
Russian Soyuz rocket blasts off for space station |
Afghan minister survives assassination attempt |
Armed gang rapes women in Mexican youth camp |
China frigate heads home, averts new Philippines row |
El Salvador's gang truce cuts murder rate |
Colombia rail blast slows transport at Cerrejon coal mine: media |
Politics, economics weigh on moguls' minds at Sun Valley |
Comic-Con fans journey to Middle Earth with Hobbit |
Soul great Aretha Franklin says wants to judge American Idol |
Tarantino unlocks Django's chains at Comic-Con |
Intense fighting reported inside Damascus city limits |
Hand, foot and mouth disease kills 17 in China
Clinton talks democracy with head of Egypt army |
Israel PM accuses Hezbollah of Cyprus attack plot |
Mali rebels say have dropped separatist goal |
Iraq warns Kurdish oil exports to Turkey harm ties |
Europe's Vatican finance report to laud reform, call for more action |
Ethiopia mosque sit-ins see deaths, arrests: protesters |
The brave new world of tomorrow's tablets |
French far right to sue Madonna over swastika images |
Ice Age puts chill on Spider-Man at box offices |
Springsteen storms through London marathon |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01