Why did USA ruin EL SALVADOR and create the MARAS?

Why did USA ruin EL SALVADOR and create the MARAS?

If there's one country that continues to capture international media attention despite being so small and impoverished, it’s El Salvador. Why? Because of Nayib Bukele, its controversial millennial president, who manages to squeeze in time between Instagram stories to implement policies as extravagant as “bitcoinizing” the country’s economy. However, his flagship policy is undoubtedly his hardline approach to crime.

Just a few years before Bukele took office, El Salvador was the most dangerous country in the world. Walking down certain streets was practically an invitation to be kidnapped—and that was the best-case scenario. Today, however, this Central American country has a homicide rate lower than that of the United States.

And yes, part of it is because the numbers are likely “cooked” more than a well-done steak, and because this achievement was reached by disregarding judicial procedures, where many innocent people haven’t had the right to a fair trial. But let’s be honest: the majority of Salvadorans are completely captivated by Bukele. After all, when one’s life is at stake, everything else becomes secondary.

But today, we're not here to talk about Bukele's policies, though they’re certainly related. Today, we’re here to talk about the past. Specifically, we’ve asked ourselves the following question: How did criminal groups change El Salvador’s economy? And in which direction will its economy go now that the problem of extreme violence seems to be under control?

The origins of this story trace back to the early 1980s, when a brutal civil war broke out in El Salvador. On one side were the armed forces, and on the other, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front. The outcome was that thousands upon thousands of refugees migrated to the U.S., particularly Los Angeles. At that time, the U.S. had barely any Salvadoran immigrant communities, so the refugees had no support networks or communities.