No Place to Hide

by Farina, Laura Pedraza

• ISBN13: 9780979639531
• ISBN10: 0979639530
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-01
• Publisher: Human Rights Program at Harvard law

Summary

Seventeen years after the civil war in El Salvador came to an end, violence and insecurity continue to shape the daily lives of many Salvadorans. This book examines the phenomenon of youth gangs, as well as related police abuse, clandestine violence, and their collective impact on the rule of law. Beginning with an evaluation of the historical legacy of violence in El Salvador and the limitations of postwar efforts to construct functioning democratic and judicial institutions, No Place to Hide analyzes the dynamic evolution of violent street gangs and the Salvadoran staters"s responses to gang-related and other forms of violence. The bookrs"s findings are based on primary research conducted in El Salvador between 2006 and 2008.

Author Biography

Laura Pedraza Faria has worked on human rights issues in Latin America with the Center for Justice and International Law and the Open Society Institute. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Yale University. Spring Miller has worked on human and migrants' rights issues in Latin America and the United States for nearly a decade., and is currently a Skadden fellow at Southern Migrant Legal Services. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School. James L. Cavallaro is a Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Executive Director of Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. Cavallaro is co-author of Security in Paraguay, the first publication in this series.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. v
Executive Summary	p. vii
Methodology	p. xi
The History of Violence in El Salvador	p. 1
Brief Overview of the Salvadoran Civil War	p. 5
The Aftermath of the War: A Culture of Impunity and Ineffective Institutions	p. 11
Lack of Judicial Independence	p. 12
Initial Efforts: The Post-War Reconstruction Period	p. 12
Current Efforts and Challenges	p. 17
Judicial Interpretation and Application of the 2003 Anti-Gang Law	p. 20
The Organized and Complex Crimes Law and the Creation of Specialized Tribunals	p. 25
Ordinary and Expert Witness Protection Measures	p. 28
Proceedings to Strip Judges of Immunity from Criminal Prosecution	p. 30
Failure to Build Effective Police Institutions in El Salvador	p. 35
Failures of the Prison System	p. 44
The Gang Phenomenon in El Salvador	p. 49
The Emergence of Youth Gangs	p. 50
How Gangs Function Today: From Small, Independent Clikas to Sophisticated National Structures	p. 56
Sophisticated Organizational Structure	p. 57
Power	p. 68
Violence	p. 71
Entry into the Gang	p. 72
Gang Life and Barriers to Leaving the Gang	p. 77
Women and Gang Violence	p. 81
Targets of Gang Violence	p. 88
Those Who Oppose Gangs	p. 88
Those Who Refuse to Join Gangs	p. 89
Those Who Try to Leave a Gang	p. 92
Other People Targeted for Living in the Same Territory as Gangs or Refusing to Comply with Gang Demands	p. 96
Killings of Suspected Gang Members by Rival Gangs	p. 99
State Responses to Crime/Gang Phenomenon	p. 107
Direct State Responses to Violence	p. 108
Legislative Background	p. 108
The Anti-Gangs Act and the April 2004 Supreme Court Ruling	p. 110
Súper Mano Dura	p. 115
Victim and Witness Protection Law	p. 117
Anti-Terrorism Law	p. 124
Organized and Complex Crimes Law	p. 126
Reform of the Criminal Process Code	p. 129
Institutionalized Discrimination Against Targeted Groups, Including Tattoed Persons and Youth	p. 132
Police Violence and Arbitrary Arrests	p. 135
Prison Overcrowding and Violence	p. 148
Targeted Law Enforcement Efforts Aimed at Deportees	p. 154
Secondary State Responses to the Gang Phenomenon: Impunity	p. 157
Failure to Ensure Public Security/Provide Effective Protection	p. 158
Lack of Effective Witness Protection	p. 160
Persistent Impunity: The State's Failure to Investigate and Prosecute	p. 164
Relationship between Political Polarization and Violence in El Salvador	p. 166
July 5, 2006 Protests, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and its Aftermath: The Apopa, San Salvador, and Suchitoto Cases	p. 168
July 5, 2006 Protests	p. 168
The Anti-Terrorism Law: Street Vendors in Apopa and San Salvador	p. 171
The Anti-Terrorism Law and Suchitoto's Water Rights Protest	p. 173
Conflating Political Opposition, Gangs, and Terrorism	p. 177
Pre-Election Violence	p. 178
Victims' Narratives of State Violence	p. 181
Targeting of Actual and Alleged Gang Members	p. 181
Police Harassment and Violence Against Suspected Gang Members	p. 183
Targeting of Suspected Gang Members for Discrimination in School Enrollment and Employment	p. 192
Persons Deported from the United States	p. 193
Clandestine Violence	p. 197
Indications of Extrajudicial Killings and the Apparent Re-Emergence of Death Squads	p. 200
Organized Crime	p. 217
Index: Proper Names	p. 221
Index: List of Places	p. 222
Index: List of Organizations	p. 223
Figures
El Salvador Homicide Rate by Year and Gender	p. 4
El Slavador 2007 Homicides by Age Group and Gender	p. 4
Institutions Responsible for Deficiencies in Prosecutor's and Judicial Case Files	p. 42
Prosecutorial and Police Deficiencies in Prosecutor's Case Files	p. 43
Salvadorans Deported from the United States by Criminal Status	p. 53
Violent Acts Directed Against Gang Members in 1999, by Gender	p. 83
Type of Aggressor by Victim's Gender, 1999	p. 84
Complaints Received by the Human Rights Ombudsperson, 2007	p. 145
Initial Assignment of Responsibility for Human Rights Violations, 2007	p. 145
Final Assignment of Responsibility for Human Rights Violations, 2007	p. 146
Pamphlets Distributed in the Town of Chalchuapa Instituting a 10:00pm Curfew	p. 204
Tables
Youth and Non-Youth Homicide Rates	p. 3
Executive Influence on Judicial Decision-Making, Survey of Judicial Perceptions	p. 19
Gang-Related Legislation	p. 110
Killings with a Possible Political Motive, 2006-2008	p. 212
Highlight Boxes
The March of the Judges	p. 33
Mass Arrests at the San Bartolo Parish	p. 140
A Peaceful Riot	p. 152
The Suchitoto Case	p. 175
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