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Alex Edwin
Professor Trist
ENVS 50
27 May 2022
Gang Violence in El Salvador
Introduction:
Many of the current conflicts that plague our world can be traced back through time to the soil
above which the conflict resides. As civilization began its developments from the ground up, so too does
our history have a foundation in the geography of the world. In the assessment of Salvadoran history, this
approach begs no exception. Over the past few months, headlines have been bombarded with news of
mass arrests conducted by President Nayib Bukele, who is cracking down hard on a recent spike of gang
violence. After 89 homicides occurred in a four day period during the month of March, President Bukele
has called for a state of emergency, ordering security forces to conduct house-by-house searches for
individuals that have any sort of relation to the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs (Alemán, 2022). Since the
beginning of these mass arrests in March, “the National Police said more than 34,500 people have been
arrested for alleged gang ties and other-related offenses, such as extortion” (Brigida, 2022). Although
Bukele has quite high popularity in El Salvador, these mass arrests have begun to raise eyebrows, as
human rights groups find concern in the fact that police are assigned daily arrest quotas (Brigida, 2022),
and that incarcerated individuals are kept in their cells for 24 hours a day and are only provided two daily
meals (Alemán, 2022). Evidently, many of these reports only seem to scratch the surface in addressing the
ongoing gang violence and Salvadoran governmental responses. These problems seem to be very
complicated, with many different opinions and perspectives to the current story. Therefore, in order to
better understand why El Salvador has been facing gang violence, it is important to travel backwards in
history, studying the geographical characteristics, the historical context, and the geopolitics of this state.
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Geographical Context:

Image courtesy of International Crisis Group.

To begin the analysis of the current events in El Salvador, it is important to begin with the
geophysical characteristics of this country. El Salvador is located in Central America, bordering
Guatemala to the northwest, Honduras to the north and east, and sharing the Gulf of Fonseca with
Nicaragua to the south. The entirety of El Salvador’s southern border is along the coast of the Pacific
Ocean. Notably, El Salvador is the only Central American country that does not have a coast facing the
Caribbean. Much of the topography of El Salvador is composed of mountainous regions, and it is home to
170 volcanoes, 23 of which are thought to be active (El Salvador Info, 2022). Together with this volcanic
soil, consistently warm climate, and abundant rainfall, the cultivation of coffee and other crops became
profitable early in the history of El Salvador (important to note for later!). Additionally, it is interesting to
note the probable relationship between the presence of volcanoes in this region and the Cocos Tectonic
Plate located in the Pacific Ocean of El Salvador’s coastline. This plate, “pushes itself under the relatively
motionless Caribbean plate (a process called subduction), accounting for frequent earthquakes near the
coast. As the ocean floor is forced down, submerged rocks melt, and the molten material spews up
through fissures, producing volcanoes” (Nations Encyclopedia). As a result of the proximity of El
Salvador to this tectonic plate, the country is prone to earthquakes. Such natural disasters have challenged
the infrastructure of the state on multiple occasions during its development.
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Historical Context
Violence in El Salvador is unfortunately not solely a recent event. Instead, this violence can be
traced back for centuries to the era of Spanish colonization of Central America. Prior to colonization, the
Pipils inhabited the region of El Salvador, a nomadic group who lived an agrarian lifestyle influenced by
the Mayans (Teaching Central America). But in 1524, the Spanish invaded, usurping the land and
massacring this indigenous population. This invasion was so violent that, “Historians estimate that in the
first fifty years of Spanish conquest, the Indian population of El Salvador declined from as many as
500,000 to about 75,000 people '' (Teaching Central America). It was during this period of colonization
that inequity arose in the region of El Salvador, as the Spanish minority began allotting themselves a
majority of the land, leaving local indigenous groups to subsistence farming on small plots of land
(Teaching Central America). It wasn’t until the early 19th century that Salvadorans began seeking
independence from Spain, an independence that they finally saw in 1821 (Santamaria et. al, 2021).
However, this transition to independence did not see much land reform, as the few elites continued to
expand their reach over agricultural exports at the cost of local Salvadoran farmers. During this time
period in the mid-to-late 1800s, coffee became a mass export crop from El Salvador, as the volcanic soil
(mentioned earlier!) became very useful for this cultivation. These few elite landowners became known as
Las Catorce, fourteen families who had control over half of the land in El Salvador by the late 1800s
(Teaching Central America). Their reign was considered the “coffee oligarchy”, and they quickly formed
both indirect and direct relationships with the Salvadoran government to mutually expand their economic
powers. Within this relationship, the government would authorize the sale of farmland from indigenous
people to the oligarchs. This forced the indigenous populations from owners of land to laborers of land for
the oligarchs, receiving low wages in return for intensive labor (Carrillo, 2015). In total, this coffee
oligarchy reigned from 1880-1929, ending as a result of the Great Depression.
As the coffee oligarchs lost their direct control over the presidency, a new era of military
governments began in 1931. This oppressive government persisted for most of the 1900s in opposition to
the recently formed Salvadoran Communist Party (Santamaria et. al, 2021). Their first encounter came in
a rebellion in 1932, which resulted in the execution of at least 10,000 communist members. The brutal
response to this rebellion is now referred to as ‘la matanza’, and many consider this the start of the
conflicts between the military governments and the communist groups which eventually created a civil
war (Santamaria et. al, 2021).
This civil war began in 1979 and was between the communist FMLN (Farabundo Marti Front for
National Liberation) group and the military government. The civil war raged from 1979-1992, and during
that time period, the U.S. contributed over $1 billion in military aid to combat the communist uprisings
(Kelley, 1991). However, support of this military regime was support for extreme violence that consisted
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of death squads, kidnappings, and toruture. By the end of the war, roughly 75,000 people were killed and
thousands more were tortured and disappeared (Menjívar and Cervantes, 2018). In 1992, the Chapultepec
Peace Accords ended the civil war, making agreements to reduce the country’s armed forces, establish a
new police force, and permit the FMLN to become an established political party (Santamaria et. al, 2021).
However, the Peace Accords did little to change El Salvador’s economic inequality, and many
Salvadorans continued to struggle under harsh living conditions after the war. Therefore, recovery for the
majority of citizens was difficult, and it was not made easier when thousands of Salvadoran gang
members were deported back from the United States.

Geopolitical Analysis
The civil war in El Salvador lasted for twelve years. During this time period, more than one
million Salvadorans were displaced, some internally, others throughout neighboring Central American
countries, and still others in the U.S. and Canada (Menjívar and Gomez Cervantes, 2018). Particularly, in
the United States, many Salvadorans settled in Los Angeles. This became the birthplace of the two most
dominant gangs seen today in El Salvador: MS-13 and Barrio 18. During their time in Los Angeles, many
Salvadorans moved into Latino neighborhoods. In the 1980s, the two notable groups found in these
Latino neighborhoods were Mexicans and Salvadorans (Garsd, 2015). As these migrants came to the
United States, many found themselves living in relatively impoverished conditions, marginalized from
much of society. As a result of these living conditions, many migrants organized into competing gangs
MS-13 and Barrio 18. Conflicts began to arise between these two groups, and it did not take long for their
fighting to be put on the radar of local officials. In response, these officials began jailing large numbers of
these Salvadoran gang members (Insight Crime, 2021). As crime continued to rise in these communities,
President Bill Clinton had signed a series of laws in the 1990s that increased deportation of immigrants,
including those with criminal records. As a result, “Between 1998 and 2014, U.S. authorities deported
almost 300,000 immigrants with criminal records to Central America. In El Salvador specifically,
deportations between 1996 and 2002 led to the return of thousands of Salvadoran gang members who had
fled their homeland during the war” (International Crisis Group, 2018). Therefore, the actions of the
United States appear to have doubly affected El Salvador’s current gang crisis. First, the United States
financially supported the harsh military dictatorship during the civil war in El Salvador. Then, the U.S.
deported the migrants who sought refuge from the war which they funded, many of whom had now
cultivated gang affiliations to subsist in the harsh neighborhoods of Los Angeles. All of these actions
were done in self-interest, as the United States aimed to protect itself from the spread of communism in
Central America as well as gang violence within its own borders. In doing so, however, the United States
contributed to the suffering of many Salvadorans, which is a sad reality to grasp.
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Conclusion
Gang violence seems to have become deeply interwoven into the history of El Salvador, as one
can draw its derivations back through time. First, Spanish colonization took land from indigenous people
and placed it into the hands of the elites. Then, the coffee oligarchy perpetuated this issue, forcing the
indigenous into the working class. Following this era, a new era of military governments continued to
oppress this working class while keeping indirect ties to the elite landowners. Various oppositional groups
from among the working class came together to form the FMLN, and a civil war began. More than a
million Salvadorans were displaced, many of them coming to the United States. During this time, MS-13
and Barrio 18 were born in Los Angeles and after their criminal activity caught much attention, many
were deported back to a war-torn El Salvador. As their presence has been established into the country
over recent decades, gang violence has become a massive challenge for the government to combat, as El
Salvador has the highest homicide rates in the world (World Population Review, 2022). When tracing
these current events all the way back through history, it is difficult to pinpoint which factor has the
strongest explanatory value for the gang violence seen today. Instead, these conflicts are truly embedded
in the soil of El Salvador. For this reason, it is equally difficult to identify one correct approach to solve
this problem. With such deep roots in history and lengthy branching into all aspects of Salvadoran society,
gang violence will be incredibly difficult to uproot. A myriad of opinions exists from the Salvadoran
people, the government, foreign investors, and Bukele. According to one Salvadoran peer at Santa Clara
University, the “government right now has created an atmosphere of economic instability and distrust in
El Salvador which draws investment elsewhere in Latin America. The amount of debt created by Bukele
and his erratic behavior really doesn’t have anyone coming in to invest and create jobs. Not only that, but
creating business in El Salvador is extremely hard with the government doing special favors for family
and friends and honest people have a million hoops to jump through to get something as simple as a
permit” (E. Samayoa, personal communication, 2022). Ultimately, then, the financial situation in El
Salvador seems to become a leading factor for Salvadorans to join gangs. Without proper allocation of
financial resources, many Salvadorans suffer from a lack of opportunities to succeed. This is an opinion
that Samayoa strongly agrees with. He states, “[the] biggest reason people join gangs is lack of
opportunity. Lack of jobs, lack of education. They gotta eat and the gangs offer that” (E. Samayoa,
personal communication, 2022). Therefore, to resolve the issue of gang violence in El Salvador seems to
be no easy feat. As of now, Bukele has taken an aggressive militaristic approach to this situation. Yet, in
order to reduce gang violence in the long term, it may be of importance to provide more opportunities to
citizens. With better access to education and financial stability, gang affiliation will become a less
attractive option for some Salvadorans, and violence will be reduced among these communities.
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Works Cited

Alemán, M. (2022, March 30). El Salvador forces encircle neighborhoods in gang crackdown. Retrieved
June 1, 2022, from https://tinyurl.com/m7yvp5zd.

Brigida, A. (2022, May 26). Pressure to make arrests as El Salvador extends gang crackdown. Retrieved
June 1, 2022, from https://tinyurl.com/495p6bsr.

Carrillo, C. V. (2015, April 17). The rise and rule of the Salvadoran Coffee Oligarchy, 1880-1929: Liberal
land reforms and the Constitution of a rigid class formation. Academia.edu. Retrieved June 1,
2022, from https://tinyurl.com/2h7jxhym.

​Garsd, J. (2015, October 5). How El Salvador fell into a web of gang violence. NPR. Retrieved June 1,
2022, from https://tinyurl.com/2p97d32v.

Kelley, J. E. (1991). El Salvador: Military Assistance has Helped Counter but Not Overcome the
Insurgency. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-91-166.pdf.

Menjívar, C., & Gómez Cervantes, A. (2018, August 29). El Salvador: Civil War, natural disasters, and
Gang Violence Drive Migration. migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved June 1, 2022, from
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/el-salvador-civil-war-natural-disasters-and-gang-violence
-drive-migration.

Samayoa, E. (2022, April 31). Personal communication [Text message].

Varela, R. Santamaria, Browning, . David G., Schultze-Kraft, . Markus and Flemion, . Philip F. (2021,
December 17). El Salvador. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/El-Salvador

El Salvador. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://tinyurl.com/2nxybacr.

El Salvador's politics of perpetual violence. Crisis Group. (2018, September 25). Retrieved June 1, 2022,
from https://tinyurl.com/yc3xwaua.

History of El Salvador. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2022, from

https://www.teachingcentralamerica.org/history-of-el-salvador.
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MS13. InSight Crime. (2021, September 22). Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://tinyurl.com/2p8ayub6.

Murder Rate by Country 2022. Murder rate by country 2022. (2022). Retrieved June 1, 2022, from
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country

Volcanoes in El Salvador. explore these iconic beauties. (2022, January 04). Retrieved June 1, 2022, from
https://elsalvadorinfo.net/volcanoes-in-el-salvador/.