Violence in El Salvador at highest levels since 1980s civil war

(Image credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

published 22 June 2015

May was one of the most violent months in El Salvador since the end of the nation’s civil war in 1992, The Associated Press reports. In a country of just over six million people, 635 homicides were reported last month; June is already set to break that mark.

The increasing instability could be related to the breakdown of a truce between gangs and the government. Last January, President Salvador Sanchez Ceren launched a crackdown on gangs by moving leaders into maximum-security cells, where they were no longer able to run criminal operations remotely. As a result, the streets were turned over to younger, more reckless gang members.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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