Gang Truce In El Salvador Essay
I am writing about an argument that is based on a gang truce between two large rival gangs in El Salvador that was settled in order to reduce the high number of murders within the country.. I have three different articles, and two of them are from the same author, and one from another source. The first two articles that both appear in the New York Times, directly relate to the problem. I first one is called “Gang Truce Buys El Salvador a Tenuous Peace” was published on August 27, 2012 by Randal C. Archibold, and the second one “Homicides in El Salvador Dip, and Questions Arise,” is also by the same author published on March 24, 2012. The last short article about 3 pages long is published by an unknown person in Fox News Latino titled “El Salvador Gang Truce Less Certain after killings was published on September 9, 2012 as a mass murder response to the upholding of the gangs’ truce. In Central and South America there are many gang problems and many murders going on within these small torn in half countries such as Honduras and Guatemala(next to El Salvador). In El Salvador there are two gangs that run it all and are constantly fighting for power over land control, etc. They are called Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18. But the Mara’s are always known as MS-13’s. Recently there has been
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many murders and government officials and everyone else is sick and tired of people dying left and right, So some political leaders got the idea that something needed to be done about these murders and as a result they basically bartered with the gang leaders that they would move 30 of their top leaders that are in maximum security incarceration to local jails with many privileges that many agree they should not have in exchange for a truce between the two gangs to halt many of the murders. As a result the gang leaders have access to privileges such as flat screen TV’s, family visits and complete contact with the outside world. This would obviously make them happy. But the argument is presented is whether the truce will last, and whether it happened just because the leaders got what they wanted and moved to less restrictive prisons. These two gangs are ruthless, the largest in El Salvador, and contribute to making El Salvador having the 2nd highest murder rate in the world right behind neighboring Guatemala. These gangs started in the United States, more specifically California, and moved to Mexico and central/south America when immigration laws were toughened and many of these gang members were deported back to their country and the gangs only grew and got stronger. But because of the level of power the gangs have and how many members there are it is hard to make peace when there is still so much hurt and agony within the country that cannot be reversed with a so called peace treaty. The author of the two main articles, Randal C. Archibold, is the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, based in Mexico City. He started this in 2010, and before that he was a national correspondent in Los Angeles. He mainly reports on Latino political issues and border and immigration problem in the Southwest United States. But, he has also been known to report on a wide variety of political topics. Some motivation behind writing about these issues is that his parents come from Panama, which is in Central America closely located to El Salvador, and he is from Brooklyn, where there is a very strong Hispanic culture, shows he has personal ties to these types of issues and probably grew up with MS-13 and Barrio. From personal experience, there is very heavy gang activity in New York City, especially in queens, and it resembles more a foreign country than average America. Many people migrate to NYC from these countries and their culture and lifestyle closely follow behind. He probably has family in Panama still, and these issues might be very emotional and personal to him, something his parents have probably also dealt with. He writes this argument to tell the rest of the world and America to pay attention to these small countries that often go unnoticed. We all know of the war on drugs with Mexico, but, hardly ever hear about problem south of there even though they directly tie in with certain cultures within our country. Also to show that no matter what happens with gangs, they are still gangs, and you can’t trust ruthless criminals to hold a truce forever when there is always bloodshed and lies. The audience would be anyone who is interested in learning this topic, or has a somewhat sparked interest when coming across it in the newspaper. But, this also appears in the New York Times World news section, so it aimed at speaking to a large audience globally and not just nationally. It is a rising issue, and people need to know about it.
The “point” or the main claim of the argument is that the truce between MS-13 and Barrio 18 is supposed to significantly cut murder rates down and restore a long lost peace and safety to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, and the rest of the country. But, the truce wasn’t made by the gangs, and it was not their idea, but this is what the government is presenting to the public, this is what they want people to think. It also leads to uncertainty among the average citizen, and hasn’t changed the fear still instilled within Salvadoran society. This can be clearly defined with the help from a passage in one of the articles that Archibald says “...But others question whether the government should have essentially made what some would consider a pact with the devil for the public good.” It also states that the leaders, Raul Mijango, former lawmaker and now is a chief mediator in the Salvadoran effort became friends with the Security minister, David Payes, and he came up with the idea to get the gangs interacting but not mentioning the fact of an actual truce. The reason for this delay of an idea for truce I think is because “…citing the government’s official position that it would not negotiate with criminals.” But Mr. Garcia, the Barrio 18, leader says “the peace is hard to maintain.” Another example from a gang leader, Ludwig Rivera, 28, says, “It’s not the truce that is weak. We feel it is strong. But the lack of involvement of the authorities and the public could make it weak. They all think we are animals, but we have rights and we are taking a step, so they should take a step.” These statements from the gang leaders suggest that there is a different feeling on the inside of the gangs, and I know from personal experience, the gangs know more than police do, but in lots of situations like this they are on the payroll of the gangs, so it’s hard to tell, but, they know better than anyone how anything can do an exact 180 and become completely out of control. They suggest that it is possible the truce could hold but at the same time question it because they know the people involved and know that not everyone is doing their best to uphold it. Also the fact that there are many unresolved deep rooted hate issues, can further impact the longevity of this truce.
One story evolves from the fox news Latino, which is one of the main articles, about how 5 13-15 year old boys went missing and were found dead in a mass grave 3 weeks later with cuts and stabs wounds to their head. They had disappeared from a nearby schoolyard, and this was evidence of the MS-13 at work, trying to force young recruits who had refused to join and died for it. This was a mere few months after the truce. “One of the mothers stood weeping as the corpses were pulled out, along with curious traces of food and silverware…Gen David Munguia Payes, El Salvador’s minister of justice and security, said the killings were the work of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13…that regularly visited schoolyards to recruit kids often – often by force. The police investigator pointed at the buried remnants of a meal. The MS-13 recruiter, he said, had probably tried to persuade the youths to join the group using the usual method: a big meal with cake and soft drinks. When they resisted they were stabbed to death.” This is a direct result of the gangs’ truce not keeping the peace, especially with children. But at the same time, not every member is going to agree with the truce, and not everyone is going to follow it. Archibold explains this as “The truce did not halt all members’ ruthless ways. Some who have violated the truce been killed themselves, according to gang leaders and a social worker involved in the talks. Gang Leaders say they cannot control all their members.” This is kind of ironic because the idea is to reduce the killings by gang members, but, instead of killing civilians they are just killing their own, which adversely affects the whole point of “peace.” Another example to support the main claim is that many people are still in fear of the gangs and average citizens on the street don’t feel much different than before the truce. Domitila Martinez, 53, a street vendor in Quezaltpeque, an area about 20 miles northeast of San Salvador, which has heavy gang activity quotes “Yes, it’s true that murders have gone down, but, we wonder how long the truce will last. I can 't talk too much they might kill me; you don’t know how they are. We the civilians who find ourselves trapped between the gangs, we have learned to survive.” The fact that he can’t say much results in the fear that many civilians still feel, and that even though the murder rates have gone down the gang still have total control in the town of Mejicanos, outside of San Salvador graffiti states that MS-13 is the power, and people don’t stand in the way of these ruthless gangs. They are still scared to talk openly about these issues and some are even too scared to share something as simple as their name. The argument is organized by first providing background and then going in to reasons that support and define the main claim which I described above. The medium of this argument is a newspaper article from the New York Times, in the genre of what I would call “international Hispanic organized criminal affairs I guess I would have to say.” It’s not a speech or an advertisement. I would call it a narrative essay almost. The audience is going to expect issues of gangs, Mexican cartels, immigrant problems, and mass ruthless crime problems.
The ethos is very well in place.
I definitely define the 2 arguments from the New York Times as credible because for one the New York Times is one of the worlds most published and respected newspapers, and the journalists and writers they have hired are going to be very qualified and educated on the issues present. So much credibility is established just because of the newspaper it is published in. The author, Archibold, as stated in the beginning is the times bureau chief in Mexico, so he is down there and actually interviewing these people and living in and around it. He also has years of experience as a journalist. So I deem him a highly qualified writer and trust what he
says. Logos - I find facts and evidence from the argument all over the place. There are many examples from all over and in all different kinds. The author almost always tells you the source with an indirect text citation. He uses statistics, direct observation, interviews and quotations from authorities. One statistic would be the number of the killings reduced in the days following the truce among gang leaders. It states “…killings in El Salvador dropped to five a day, and sometimes even fewer, from the typical 14. All told homicides nationwide dropped 186 in the first 21 days of March from 411 in January and 402 in February.” Another one of my articles states that “Homicides in this country of six million people are down 32 percent in the first half of this year; kidnappings have fallen 50 percent; and extortion has declined nearly ten percent, according to the Salvadoran security ministry, which attributes the drop largely to the truce”. I should be able to go look that up anytime and verify those numbers, but the first one doesn’t list the source where the figures came from, but the second one does, and they were both published by the same author, Archibold, and both for the New York Times. While one doesn’t state the exact source I still trust the information because I believe Archibold to be a credible writer based on everything else that he has written, and with his credentials and specialty in Latin Immigration Issues and Political Affairs. There is definitely an emotional side to this story when regarding pathos. Thousands of people in this country and worldwide are affected by gang violence, especially in North and South America. Also the author personally connects with this because his parents are from panama, and he is a Latino, so he can probably relate to some of these issues. In the issue with 5 teenage boys being murdered after school, it triggered an emotional response for the entire community. Not only are the gangs directly involved with each other, but, they have become so widespread and powerful that it affects the government, laws, and morale of the country. Almost anyone in Central America any many in the Mexico and U.S. can relate themselves or to someone they know that has been affect by the violence and ruthlessness of gangsters. They have infiltrated every part of society and now they just want the disappearances to stop and questions answered, but, they can’t seem to reach any. While this pact has been the starting point for redevelopment and restoring of the peace of mind for citizens, it is just the first baby step in years and years of work to be done, but, it won’t ever completely stop, the truce could last forever. But as old leaders get killed, die, or retire, new ones emerge who are even more ruthless than the last ones and then we have an entire new generation of problems. The fact that the pact was only an agreement to stop killings and not extortion, drug smuggling, or prostitution ironically speaks for itself. Most of these murders are the effect of bad business deals because of these things. When a drug operation goes sour, someone dies. So until we put a grinding halt on those issues, how can we stop the murders? We have to dig deeper in to the past. “We think that, yes, it has reduced crime, but long-range, sustainably, we feel that we have to address the root causes in order to be effective and for any reduction to be sustainable.” said Mari Carmen Aponte, the American ambassador to El Salvador. Another quote from a spokesman for the opposition right-wing arena political party said, “A Deal with the gangs. Would be a nefarious precedent. The government would be offering itself to extortionists.” Indeed, I agree with his statement. I don’t think you can trust a truce between two untrustworthy criminal enterprises and the government they secretly want to take over.
Works Cited
New York Times. “Randal C. Archibold.” Times Topics, Biography. The New York Times Company, 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Archibold, Randal C. “Homicides in El Salvador Dip, and Questions Arise.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 24 March. 2012. Web. 8 October 2012
Archibold, Randal C. “Gangs’ Truce Buys El Salvador a Tenuous Peace.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 27 August. 2012. Web. 8 October 2012
“El Salvador Gang Truce Less Certain after Killings.” Fox News Latino. Fox News Network, LLC. 9 September 2012. Web. 8 October, 2012
many murders and government officials and everyone else is sick and tired of people dying left and right, So some political leaders got the idea that something needed to be done about these murders and as a result they basically bartered with the gang leaders that they would move 30 of their top leaders that are in maximum security incarceration to local jails with many privileges that many agree they should not have in exchange for a truce between the two gangs to halt many of the murders. As a result the gang leaders have access to privileges such as flat screen TV’s, family visits and complete contact with the outside world. This would obviously make them happy. But the argument is presented is whether the truce will last, and whether it happened just because the leaders got what they wanted and moved to less restrictive prisons. These two gangs are ruthless, the largest in El Salvador, and contribute to making El Salvador having the 2nd highest murder rate in the world right behind neighboring Guatemala. These gangs started in the United States, more specifically California, and moved to Mexico and central/south America when immigration laws were toughened and many of these gang members were deported back to their country and the gangs only grew and got stronger. But because of the level of power the gangs have and how many members there are it is hard to make peace when there is still so much hurt and agony within the country that cannot be reversed with a so called peace treaty. The author of the two main articles, Randal C. Archibold, is the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, based in Mexico City. He started this in 2010, and before that he was a national correspondent in Los Angeles. He mainly reports on Latino political issues and border and immigration problem in the Southwest United States. But, he has also been known to report on a wide variety of political topics. Some motivation behind writing about these issues is that his parents come from Panama, which is in Central America closely located to El Salvador, and he is from Brooklyn, where there is a very strong Hispanic culture, shows he has personal ties to these types of issues and probably grew up with MS-13 and Barrio. From personal experience, there is very heavy gang activity in New York City, especially in queens, and it resembles more a foreign country than average America. Many people migrate to NYC from these countries and their culture and lifestyle closely follow behind. He probably has family in Panama still, and these issues might be very emotional and personal to him, something his parents have probably also dealt with. He writes this argument to tell the rest of the world and America to pay attention to these small countries that often go unnoticed. We all know of the war on drugs with Mexico, but, hardly ever hear about problem south of there even though they directly tie in with certain cultures within our country. Also to show that no matter what happens with gangs, they are still gangs, and you can’t trust ruthless criminals to hold a truce forever when there is always bloodshed and lies. The audience would be anyone who is interested in learning this topic, or has a somewhat sparked interest when coming across it in the newspaper. But, this also appears in the New York Times World news section, so it aimed at speaking to a large audience globally and not just nationally. It is a rising issue, and people need to know about it.
The “point” or the main claim of the argument is that the truce between MS-13 and Barrio 18 is supposed to significantly cut murder rates down and restore a long lost peace and safety to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, and the rest of the country. But, the truce wasn’t made by the gangs, and it was not their idea, but this is what the government is presenting to the public, this is what they want people to think. It also leads to uncertainty among the average citizen, and hasn’t changed the fear still instilled within Salvadoran society. This can be clearly defined with the help from a passage in one of the articles that Archibald says “...But others question whether the government should have essentially made what some would consider a pact with the devil for the public good.” It also states that the leaders, Raul Mijango, former lawmaker and now is a chief mediator in the Salvadoran effort became friends with the Security minister, David Payes, and he came up with the idea to get the gangs interacting but not mentioning the fact of an actual truce. The reason for this delay of an idea for truce I think is because “…citing the government’s official position that it would not negotiate with criminals.” But Mr. Garcia, the Barrio 18, leader says “the peace is hard to maintain.” Another example from a gang leader, Ludwig Rivera, 28, says, “It’s not the truce that is weak. We feel it is strong. But the lack of involvement of the authorities and the public could make it weak. They all think we are animals, but we have rights and we are taking a step, so they should take a step.” These statements from the gang leaders suggest that there is a different feeling on the inside of the gangs, and I know from personal experience, the gangs know more than police do, but in lots of situations like this they are on the payroll of the gangs, so it’s hard to tell, but, they know better than anyone how anything can do an exact 180 and become completely out of control. They suggest that it is possible the truce could hold but at the same time question it because they know the people involved and know that not everyone is doing their best to uphold it. Also the fact that there are many unresolved deep rooted hate issues, can further impact the longevity of this truce.
One story evolves from the fox news Latino, which is one of the main articles, about how 5 13-15 year old boys went missing and were found dead in a mass grave 3 weeks later with cuts and stabs wounds to their head. They had disappeared from a nearby schoolyard, and this was evidence of the MS-13 at work, trying to force young recruits who had refused to join and died for it. This was a mere few months after the truce. “One of the mothers stood weeping as the corpses were pulled out, along with curious traces of food and silverware…Gen David Munguia Payes, El Salvador’s minister of justice and security, said the killings were the work of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13…that regularly visited schoolyards to recruit kids often – often by force. The police investigator pointed at the buried remnants of a meal. The MS-13 recruiter, he said, had probably tried to persuade the youths to join the group using the usual method: a big meal with cake and soft drinks. When they resisted they were stabbed to death.” This is a direct result of the gangs’ truce not keeping the peace, especially with children. But at the same time, not every member is going to agree with the truce, and not everyone is going to follow it. Archibold explains this as “The truce did not halt all members’ ruthless ways. Some who have violated the truce been killed themselves, according to gang leaders and a social worker involved in the talks. Gang Leaders say they cannot control all their members.” This is kind of ironic because the idea is to reduce the killings by gang members, but, instead of killing civilians they are just killing their own, which adversely affects the whole point of “peace.” Another example to support the main claim is that many people are still in fear of the gangs and average citizens on the street don’t feel much different than before the truce. Domitila Martinez, 53, a street vendor in Quezaltpeque, an area about 20 miles northeast of San Salvador, which has heavy gang activity quotes “Yes, it’s true that murders have gone down, but, we wonder how long the truce will last. I can 't talk too much they might kill me; you don’t know how they are. We the civilians who find ourselves trapped between the gangs, we have learned to survive.” The fact that he can’t say much results in the fear that many civilians still feel, and that even though the murder rates have gone down the gang still have total control in the town of Mejicanos, outside of San Salvador graffiti states that MS-13 is the power, and people don’t stand in the way of these ruthless gangs. They are still scared to talk openly about these issues and some are even too scared to share something as simple as their name. The argument is organized by first providing background and then going in to reasons that support and define the main claim which I described above. The medium of this argument is a newspaper article from the New York Times, in the genre of what I would call “international Hispanic organized criminal affairs I guess I would have to say.” It’s not a speech or an advertisement. I would call it a narrative essay almost. The audience is going to expect issues of gangs, Mexican cartels, immigrant problems, and mass ruthless crime problems.
The ethos is very well in place.
I definitely define the 2 arguments from the New York Times as credible because for one the New York Times is one of the worlds most published and respected newspapers, and the journalists and writers they have hired are going to be very qualified and educated on the issues present. So much credibility is established just because of the newspaper it is published in. The author, Archibold, as stated in the beginning is the times bureau chief in Mexico, so he is down there and actually interviewing these people and living in and around it. He also has years of experience as a journalist. So I deem him a highly qualified writer and trust what he
says. Logos - I find facts and evidence from the argument all over the place. There are many examples from all over and in all different kinds. The author almost always tells you the source with an indirect text citation. He uses statistics, direct observation, interviews and quotations from authorities. One statistic would be the number of the killings reduced in the days following the truce among gang leaders. It states “…killings in El Salvador dropped to five a day, and sometimes even fewer, from the typical 14. All told homicides nationwide dropped 186 in the first 21 days of March from 411 in January and 402 in February.” Another one of my articles states that “Homicides in this country of six million people are down 32 percent in the first half of this year; kidnappings have fallen 50 percent; and extortion has declined nearly ten percent, according to the Salvadoran security ministry, which attributes the drop largely to the truce”. I should be able to go look that up anytime and verify those numbers, but the first one doesn’t list the source where the figures came from, but the second one does, and they were both published by the same author, Archibold, and both for the New York Times. While one doesn’t state the exact source I still trust the information because I believe Archibold to be a credible writer based on everything else that he has written, and with his credentials and specialty in Latin Immigration Issues and Political Affairs. There is definitely an emotional side to this story when regarding pathos. Thousands of people in this country and worldwide are affected by gang violence, especially in North and South America. Also the author personally connects with this because his parents are from panama, and he is a Latino, so he can probably relate to some of these issues. In the issue with 5 teenage boys being murdered after school, it triggered an emotional response for the entire community. Not only are the gangs directly involved with each other, but, they have become so widespread and powerful that it affects the government, laws, and morale of the country. Almost anyone in Central America any many in the Mexico and U.S. can relate themselves or to someone they know that has been affect by the violence and ruthlessness of gangsters. They have infiltrated every part of society and now they just want the disappearances to stop and questions answered, but, they can’t seem to reach any. While this pact has been the starting point for redevelopment and restoring of the peace of mind for citizens, it is just the first baby step in years and years of work to be done, but, it won’t ever completely stop, the truce could last forever. But as old leaders get killed, die, or retire, new ones emerge who are even more ruthless than the last ones and then we have an entire new generation of problems. The fact that the pact was only an agreement to stop killings and not extortion, drug smuggling, or prostitution ironically speaks for itself. Most of these murders are the effect of bad business deals because of these things. When a drug operation goes sour, someone dies. So until we put a grinding halt on those issues, how can we stop the murders? We have to dig deeper in to the past. “We think that, yes, it has reduced crime, but long-range, sustainably, we feel that we have to address the root causes in order to be effective and for any reduction to be sustainable.” said Mari Carmen Aponte, the American ambassador to El Salvador. Another quote from a spokesman for the opposition right-wing arena political party said, “A Deal with the gangs. Would be a nefarious precedent. The government would be offering itself to extortionists.” Indeed, I agree with his statement. I don’t think you can trust a truce between two untrustworthy criminal enterprises and the government they secretly want to take over.
Works Cited
New York Times. “Randal C. Archibold.” Times Topics, Biography. The New York Times Company, 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Archibold, Randal C. “Homicides in El Salvador Dip, and Questions Arise.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 24 March. 2012. Web. 8 October 2012
Archibold, Randal C. “Gangs’ Truce Buys El Salvador a Tenuous Peace.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 27 August. 2012. Web. 8 October 2012
“El Salvador Gang Truce Less Certain after Killings.” Fox News Latino. Fox News Network, LLC. 9 September 2012. Web. 8 October, 2012