Police in El Salvador told they can shoot gang members if they feel unsafe
In El Salvador, where seven police officers have been killed so far this year, members of law enforcement have been told they can shoot at gang members if they feel threatened.
"We support...any member of the police, our police, who in fulfillment of his duties and the defense of the safety of citizens, uses his gun and should use it without any fear of suffering consequences," Vice President Oscar Ortiz said in a statement on Wednesday. Previously, police officers who used deadly force were investigated and could be fired, Reuters reports.
In 2014, 39 police officers were killed by suspected gang members. The overall murder rate for the year was up by almost 60 percent, after a truce collapsed between the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Organic wines that won't cost the Earth
The Week Recommends From a 'zippy' muscadet to a 'dangerously drinkable' malbec
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Can the UK avoid the Trump tariff bombshell?
Today's Big Question President says UK is 'way out of line' but it may still escape worst of US trade levies
By The Week UK Published
-
Beyoncé's record-breaking night at the Grammys
Talking Point Long-denied Album of the Year win rights a 'historic sense of grievance'
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published