El Salvador Armed street gangs give up arsenal for peace
Members of notorious rival gangs involved in street violence across North and Central America since the 80s turned in their weapons on Monday in the Plaza Gerardo Barrios in San Salvador, as part of an amnesty designed to get their arsenal of guns off the streets of El Salvador. According to the Technical Committee of the Reduction Process and Violence in El Salvador, the weapons amnesty has decreased homicides in by 50 per cent.
This marks the third turning in of arms, known as la tregua, the first two of which took a total of 354 weapons out of the hands of unlicensed users. Overseen by the Organisation of the American States OAS, Mondays event was coordinated by the OAS Secretary for Multi dimensional Security Adam Brackwell, and it involved former leader of the Farbunbdo Marti National Liberation Front FMLN, Raul Mijango, and Bishop Fabio Colindres. Mijango acts as a mediator between the gangs, bringing onboard three other street gangs Mirada Loco, Mao Mao and Machine.
Brackwell claimed the process was important for the security of Salvadoran citizens, saying I think its very important for El Salvador, I think its very important for Central America, I think its very important for the countries of the Americas to try and find solutions to the very high levels of criminality that we have.
Other Latin American countries like Honduras and Guatemala have also proposed a weapons amnesty among their local Maras. Members of the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 in Honduras announced on May 25 that they will participate in a tregua next Tuesday, hoping to achieve a similar decrease in street violence.
El Salvador, weapons
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder