Region Blasts Gangs in El Salvador
The 3rd International Anti-Gang Convention attended by police forces of Central America, Mexico and the United States is meeting in Sonsonate, El Salvador until Thursday to exchange experience on combating delinquent gangs.

Official figures indicate that gangs, or "maras" as they are known here, have from 50 thousand to 250 thousand members, mostly young people from the poorest barrios of the region.

Many have been deported from cities of the United States and have joined the Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 that operate mostly in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and some regions of Mexico.

National Police director of El Salvador, Rodrigo Avila, said the convention is very important because the gangs have adopted very dangerous actions. They also operate under similar codes of organized crime with links to drug and arms trafficking.

To combat them they have applied several plans such as Firm Hand, Super Firm Hand in El Salvador and Operation Thunder in Honduras, with no success.

Special Rapporteur for the United Nations, Sergio Pinheiro, said during a visit in 2005, that these plans of persecution are just an inadequate and discriminatory persecution of young people.

Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights, Beatrice De Carrillo, the Catholic Church, social and political organizations insist on the application of plans of prevention to offer greater opportunities for study and work.