No Place to Hide: Gang, State, and Clandestine Violence in El Salvador Laura Pedraza Fariña Spring Miller James L. Cavallaro Published by the International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School Distributed by Harvard University Press © 2010 International Human Rights Clinic Human Rights Program Harvard Law School Printed in the United States of America The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program publishes a “Human Rights Practice Series” of books, distributed by Harvard University Press. Books in this series are designed to further interdisciplinary scholarship and practical understanding of leading human rights issues. All Rights Reserved ISBN: 978-0-9796395-3-1 International Human Rights Clinic Human Rights Program Harvard Law School 1563 Massachusetts Avenue Pound Hall 401 Cambridge, MA 02138 United States of America 617-495-9362 [email protected] http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/hrp Distributed by Harvard University Press http://www.hup.harvard.edu Printed by Signature Book Printing, http://www.sbpbooks.com Photographs by Juan Carlos www.juancarlosphotos.com Table of Contents Acknowledgments v Executive Summary vii Methodology xi Chapter I: The History of Violence in El Salvador 1 A. Brief Overview of the Salvadoran Civil War 5 Chapter II: The Aftermath of the War: A Culture of Impunity and Ineffective Institutions 11 A. Lack of Judicial Independence 12 1. Initial Efforts: The Post-War Reconstruction Period 12 2. Current Efforts and Challenges 17 a) Judicial Interpretation and Application of the 2003 Anti-Gang Law 20 b) The Organized and Complex Crimes Law and the Creation of Specialized Tribunals 25 c) Ordinary and Expert Witness Protection Measures 28 d) Proceedings to Strip Judges of Immunity from Criminal Prosecution 30 B. Failures of the Prison System 44 Chapter III: The Gang Phenomenon in El Salvador 49 A. The Emergence of Youth Gangs 50 B. How Gangs Function Today: From Small, Independent Clikas to Sophisticated National Structures 56 1. Sophisticated Organizational Structure 57 2. Power 68 3. Violence 71 a) Entry into the Gang 72 b) Gang Life and Barriers to Leaving the Gang 77 c) Women and Gang Violence 81 C. Targets of Gang Violence 88 ii Table of Contents 1. Those Who Oppose Gangs 88 a) Those Who Refuse to Join Gangs 89 b) Those Who Try to Leave a Gang 92 c) Other People Targeted for Living in the Same Territory as Gangs or Refusing to Comply with Gang Demands 96 2. Killings of Suspected Gang Members by Rival Gangs 99 Chapter IV: State Responses to Crime/Gang Phenomenon 107 A. Direct State Responses to Violence 108 1. Legislative Background 108 a) The Anti-Gangs Act and the April 2004 Supreme Court Ruling 110 b) Súper Mano Dura 115 c) Victim and Witness Protection Law 117 d) Anti-Terrorism Law 124 e) Organized and Complex Crimes Law 126 f) Reform of the Criminal Process Code 129 2. Institutionalized Discrimination Against Targeted Groups, Including Tattoed Persons and Youth 132 3. Police Violence and Arbitrary Arrests 135 4. Prison Overcrowding and Violence 148 5. Targeted Law Enforcement Efforts Aimed at Deportees 154 B. Secondary State Responses to the Gang Phenomenon: Impunity 157 1. Failure to Ensure Public Security/Provide Effective Protection 158 2. Lack of Effective Witness Protection 160 3. Persistent Impunity: The State’s Failure to Investigate and Prosecute 164 C. Relationship between Political Polarization and Violence in El Salvador 166 1. July 5, 2006 Protests, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and its Aftermath: The Apopa, San Salvador, and Suchitoto Cases 166 a) July 5, 2006 Protests 168 b) The Anti-Terrorism Law: Street Vendors in Apopa and San Salvador 171 c) The Anti-Terrorism Law and Suchitoto’s Water Rights Protest 173 No Place to Hide iii 2. Conflating Political Opposition, Gangs, and Terrorism 177 3. Pre-Election Violence 178 D. Victims’ Narratives of State Violence 181 1. Targeting of Actual and Alleged Gang Members 181 a) Police Harassment and Violence Against Suspected Gang Members 183 b) Targeting of Suspected Gang Members for Discrimination in School Enrollment and Employment 192 c) Persons Deported from the United States 193 Chapter V: Clandestine Violence 197 A. Indications of Extrajudicial Killings and the Apparent Re-Emergence of Death Squads 200 B. Organized Crime 217 Index: Proper Names 221 Index: List of Places 222 Index: List of Organizations 223 Figures Figure 1a: El Salvador Homicide Rate by Year and Gender 4 Figure 1b: El Slavador 2007 Homicides by Age Group and Gender 4 Figure 2a: Institutions Responsible for Deficiencies in Prosecutor’s and Judicial Case Files 42 Figure 2b: Prosecutorial and Police Deficiencies in Prosecutor’s Case Files 43 Figure 3: Salvadorans Deported from the United States by Criminal Status 53 Figure 4: Violent Acts Directed Against Gang Members in 1999, by Gender 83 Figure 5: Type of Aggressor by Victim’s Gender, 1999 84 Figure 6: Complaints Received by the Human Rights Ombudsperson, 2007 145 Figure 7a: Initial Assignment of Responsibility for Human Rights Violations, 2007 145 Figure 7a: Final Assignment of Responsibility for Human iv Table of Contents Rights Violations, 2007 146 Figure 8: Pamphlets Distributed in the Town of Chalchuapa Instituting a 10:00pm Curfew 204 Tables Table 1: Youth and Non-Youth Homicide Rates 3 Table 2: Executive Influence on Judicial Decision-Making, Survey of Judicial Perceptions 19 Table 3: Gang-Related Legislation 110 Table 4: Killings with a Possible Political Motive, 2006-2008 212 Highlight Boxes The March of the Judges 33 Mass Arrests at the San Bartolo Parish 140 A Peaceful Riot 152 The Suchitoto Case 175 Acknowledgments This book was researched by students enrolled in the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School under the direction of Clinical Professor and Human Rights Program Executive Director James Cavallaro over the course of seven semesters, from January 2006 to March 2009. The student researchers and contributors were Stephanie Brewer, Mark Jensen, Helen Lawrence, Timothy Mayhle, Spring Miller, Laura Pedraza Fariña, María Luisa Romero, and Molly Thomas-Jensen. Members of the Harvard Law School Student Advocates for Human Rights, including David Carpman, Virginia Corrigan, Dustin Saldarriaga, and Sara Zampierin, and IHRC clinical students, Virginia Farmer, Francesca Gesualdi, Yanyan Lam, and Natalie Zerial provided significant research and editing assistance. In February 2007, the IHRC released an earlier version of this book. Helen Lawrence assisted in the editing of this text. Michael Jones designed the cover, formatted the text and oversaw the production of this book. Anne Berndtson, Helen Lawrence, and Ada Sheng assisted in the proofreading of several drafts, with the collaboration of Emma Kohse. The 2007 report, by the same title, benefited from drafting and coordination by Spring Miller and James Cavallaro. Laura Pedraza Fariña, who has been involved in the project since 2008, coordinated the updating of existing chapters and the drafting of new chapters. The authors of this book are thus Laura Pedraza Fariña, Spring Miller, and James Cavallaro. The International Human Rights Clinic thanks the many individuals in El Salvador who provided us with information in the course of our research. We are particularly grateful to Matthew Eisen, Rosa Anaya Perla, Sherry Stanley, Nelson Escobar, and Juan Carlos Cañas, whose assistance in coordinating research during our trips to El Salvador was invaluable. We also thank the staff of various Salvadoran non-governmental research, advocacy, and humanitarian organizations who helped us access the information in this book. In particular, we thank staff of the Institute for Public Opinion Research of “José Simeón Cañas” Central American vi Acknowledgments University (Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” or IUDOP); the Human Rights Institute of “José Simeón Cañas” Central American University (Instituto de Derechos Humanos at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” or IDHUCA); Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ); Youth Movement (Movimiento Juvenil or MOJE); “Octavio Ortiz” Clinic (Clínica Octavio Ortiz); Generation XXI (Generación XXI); “Father Rafael Palacios” Guidance and Training Center (Centro de Formación y Orientación “Padre Rafael Palacios” or CFO); Ideas and Actions for Peace, Quetzalcoatl Foundation (Fundación Quetzalcoatl, Ideas y Acciones para la Paz); The Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of San Salvador (Tutela Legal del Arzobispado de San Salvador or Tutela Legal); Care and Support for Situations of Social Suffering (Proceso de Atención a Situaciones de Sufrimiento Social or PASSOS); San Bartolo Parish Human Rights Committee (Comité de los Derechos Humanos de la Parroquia de San Bartolo); and “Homies” Together (Homies Unidos). We would like to express our appreciation to the governmental authorities who provided us with important information and insights throughout our research process. Special thanks go to Supreme Court Justice Mirna Antonieta Perla Jiménez, Judge Edward Sidney Blanco Reyes, Judge Juan Antonio Durán Ramírez, Judge Aída Luz Santos de Escobar, Judge Doris Luz Rivas Galindo, Alan Edward Hernández Portillo (Chief Prosecutor for the Special Extortion Unit), Jaime Martínez Ventura of the Office of Juvenile Justice of the Supreme Court, and Dr. Fabio Molina Vaquerano (Research Director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine). Finally, we are deeply grateful to the victims of and witnesses to violence in El Salvador who spoke with our researchers. The report would not have been possible without the valuable information they shared with us. Executive Summary Almost two decades after the civil war in El Salvador came to an end, violence and insecurity continue to shape the daily lives of many Salvadorans. Much of this violence stems from the proliferation of youth gangs, insufficient and abusive state responses to gangs, and the crimes of clandestine groups. This book examines the phenomenon of youth gangs and documents human rights violations associated with gang violence as well as the corresponding Salvadoran governmental responses.