El Salvador’s Criminal De-Mobilization Evokes De-Militarization of Civil War
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The truce among rival gangs that reduced violence in El Salvador by 53 percent still holds firm. Though, extortion and kidnapping are noticeably down in the capital of San Salvador, these gang related crimes shot up slightly in July. With 30,000 to 50,000 gang members throughout the country it is difficult to enforce a complete de-mobilization. By contrast, the country’s military and police forces are composed of about 15,000 active duty personnel each.
During peace talks, gang leaders evoked the agreement of Chapultepec that ended El Salvador’s civil war between the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels and government forces in 1992. The war killed over 70,000. De-militarization proved to be the cornerstone of the agreement, separating Public Security from National Defense through the creation of a civilian police force distinct from the military. By the end of the war, El Salvador had 63,000 soldiers. An initial reduction plan sought to halve that force to 31,000 members.
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http://revpana.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/el-salvadors-criminal-de-mobilization-evokes-de-militarization-of-civil-war/