Mass deportations to El Salvador at the end of the last century and the lack of coordination with the different Salvadoran governments make the United States co-responsible for the emergence and development of the gang phenomenon in the country, experts consulted by Xinhua said.
Since March 27, the Salvadoran government has launched an offensive against gangs, or "maras," under the "state of emergency" established in the country's constitution, after they unleashed a wave of armed violence and murders that claimed the lives of 72 Salvadorans in just 87 hours.
The total of suspected gang members and collaborators arrested as part of the offensive so far exceeds 21.000 people, which has contributed to the decrease in the number of homicides, disappearances, extortions and other violent crimes, according to official sources.
For Salvadoran anthropologist and political analyst Marvin Aguilar, the government's policy of war against gangs enjoys great popular support, as armed violence and homicides have been a constant in El Salvador's daily life for the past 30 years.
During that period, he told Xinhua, the gangs have become a monster without control, which is increasingly aware of its power and capacity through the domination of territories and the spread of terror.
In Aguilar's opinion, the responsibility for this is not exclusive to the Salvadoran governments since 1992, when the peace accords that put an end to the Civil War were signed.
It's also from the United States, due to "its lack of prevention in deporting en masse Salvadorans who were there because they were a nuisance," the expert asserted.
The origin of the criminal gangs that make up a scene of violence and insecurity in El Salvador and other Central American countries such as Honduras and Guatemala dates back to the 80s, in the US city of Los Angeles, California, according to studies in this regard. .
Salvadorans who fled the Civil War settled in that city and organized to defend each other from discrimination and abuse from the authorities and other Latino or African-American minorities.
The objectives of these organizations changed over time, eventually becoming the current "maras," dedicated to committing crimes such as robbery, assault, drug trafficking, extortion, and homicide.
The US government's response was the massive and constant deportation of gang members, who replicated the criminal structure in their countries of origin.
The United States fueled the problem of violence and insecurity in El Salvador with its mass deportations because "these were young people, some of whom had never even lived in El Salvador, and they were thrown out onto the streets outside the airport," Aguilar recalled.
"The way they found to survive was by recruiting young people in the poorest communities, showing them that solidarity and brotherhood could be used to solve the problems of poverty and marginalization, which in this country are brutal, scandalous, and historic," he added.
Deportations from the United States like those that helped form the gangs continue to arrive in El Salvador, Salvadoran security and criminology expert Ricardo Sosa told Xinhua.
In his opinion, to contain the "mara" phenomenon, in addition to a policy like that of the current Salvadoran government, it is also important for the United States to reflect on the appropriateness of continuing to deport foreigners who commit crimes on its territory.
Many of them arrive in their countries of origin and immediately become part of criminal structures, he said.
"If these Salvadorans are committing crimes on U.S. soil, let them be prosecuted, let them be captured, and let them be tried there. Let them have the right to defense so they can defend themselves on U.S. soil," the specialist urged.
Sosa affirmed that the deficiencies in communication between the countries involved in the deportations and the gang phenomenon also make it difficult to confront it.
The United States has criticized the Salvadoran government's crackdown on gangs, expressing "concern" over alleged violations of the human and civil rights of detainees.
Sosa recently criticized the desire to give El Salvador "a recipe" for combating gangs, even though the United States has been unable to resolve the phenomenon in its own land, where it originated.
"He hasn't found an answer to the gang problem, and he wants to give us a prescription. That's not fair," the specialist questioned during an interview with local television.
His observation is consistent with that of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has accused U.S. officials of being untrue when they allege that Washington has supported and supports the fight against gang crime in El Salvador and Central America.
