El Salvador

Description
El Salvador is a tiny Central
American nation known for its
Pacific Ocean beaches, surfing and
mountainous landscape. Its Ruta de
Las Flores is a winding journey
past flowering coffee farms,
rainforest zip-line sites and towns
like Juaya, with its weekend food
festival, and Ataco, home to vivid
murals. The capital, San Salvador,
with a dramatic backdrop of
volcanoes, has vibrant nightlife and
arts scenes.

Capital: San Salvador

Currency: United States Dollar
Population: 6.34 million (2013)
President: Salvador Snchez Cern
Official language: Spanish

People & culture

The culture of El Salvador is similar to other countries in
Latin America, and more specifically to other countries in
Central America. The European influences are emphasized in
the architecture of the colonial churches, museums and
theaters throughout most of El Salvador. In addition,
contemporary life in its cities has become similar to that of
the rest of Latin America.

Point of interest
El Boquern National park
Lake llopango
Estadio Cuscatln

Political problems
Organized crime in El Salvador is a serious
problem. There are an estimated 25,000 gang
members at large in El Salvador with another
9,000 in prison. The most well-known gangs,
called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish,
are Mara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18;
maras are hunted by death squads including
Sombra Negra. Newer rivals also include the
rising mara, The Rebels 13. Criminal youth gangs
run lives in El Salvador with an estimation of at
least 60,000 young people belonging to gangs.
Today, El Salvador experiences some of the
highest murder rates in the Latin America; it is
also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis,
along with Guatemala and Honduras.

What is causing is this?

During El Salvador's brutal civil war
30 years ago, hundreds of
thousands of people fled to the
United States, where some joined
dangerous Latino gangs for
protection and a livelihood. Soon
after, many of these gang members
were deported back to El Salvador,
establishing a new and threatening
presence in their home country.
Today El Salvador has a War
between gang and the Government.

What can we do to help?

If I was in charge of the gang
problem I would create this
program to help the gang
members. This program will not
only help the gang members,
but also their family members
that are going through a hard
time.

The end