Gang membership was first criminalized in a 2003 anti-gang law (Ley Anti-Maras), as part of the larger Mano Dura or “Iron Fist” crackdown. The initial law resulted in mass arrests, leading to severe prison overcrowding and the dismissal of many of the charges by judges who refused to apply the law. Those judges were vindicated in 2004 when the Supreme Court held that the law, which arbitrarily penalized individuals based on factors such as their physical appearance, was unconstitutional. Over the next several years, there was escalating conflict between the legislative and executive branches—which have argued that “traditional” judges are overly concerned with defendants’ rights and insufficiently committed to stopping gang violence—and the courts, which sought to maintain their independence and uphold the constitution.

“They are saturating the courts and announcing the arrests in the press, and those who are arrested are branded, even if they are proven innocent.” He compared the strategy to the “scorched earth” military operations that led to some of the worst atrocities of the Civil War, recalling in particular the notorious case of El Mozote, in which an entire village—mostly women and children—was slaughtered by the Salvadoran military in 1981.

“These people are threatened and terrorized by the gangs on one side and by the PNC and the army who see everyone from that community as suspicious. They target whole families who are suspected to be connected to the gangs. It’s very difficult for youths to defend themselves with these extraordinary measures in the prisons, they aren’t allowed to see family or even their defense attorneys. Their right to defend themselves is being violated.”