ConflictBarometer_2016

THE AMERICAS
tary members mobilized for protests in various cities against
a planned reform aiming at the increase of taxes on alcohol,
tobacco, and soft drinks.
In Guayaquil, Guayas province, people demonstrating against
the reform clashed with the police. At the same time, more
than 1,000 people attended the president's address in favor
of the reform in front of the presidential palace in the capital
Quito, Pichincha province.
The number of protests decreased after a severe earthquake
on April 16 in the northern coastal provinces, which had left
over 600 people dead and 16,000 injured.
On June 6, hundreds protested in Quito against a planned reform
raising inheritance taxes to up to 77 percent. Riot police
impeded direct confrontations between protesters and supporters
of Correa.
On August 11, approx. 20 security forces evicted eight families
of the indigenous Shuar community in Nankints, Morona
Santiago province, to secure mining activities of the Chinese
company Explorcobres. On November 21, Interior Minister
Diego Fuentes stated that Shuar activists had wounded seven
policemen inashooting in Nankints.
One month later, the Coordinating Minister for Security, César
Navas, declared a state of exception for 30 days in Morona
Santiago and deployed 700 elite soldiers and policemen, military
tanks, trucks, and helicopters to the mining zone after
approx. 80 armed Shuar activists had entered the mine on
December 14 and killed one policeman and wounded seven.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador
(CONAIE), the country's largest indigenous organization, defended
the Shuar's actions as ''legitimate to protect their holy
land”, and claimed there had been no previous consultation
of the indigenous community about the mining activities.
Correa later denounced the activists as criminals. mkr
EL SALVADOR (MARAS)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2012
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Barrio 18, Mara Salvatrucha vs. government
subnational predominance
The limited war over subnational predominance between the
country's major criminal gangs, mainly the Barrio 18 and the
Mara Salvatrucha, and the government continued.
While the homicide rate declined from its all-time peak in
2015, the conflict between the gang members and security
forces intensified as the government extended its security
strategies by joint military and police operations. The increase
in possession and use of automatic weapons by the
gangs also added to the growing militarization of the conflict.
By the end of December, 5,278 people had been murdered,
among them 424 gang members, 44 police officers, and 20
military members. The most affected departments were San
Salvador, La Libertad, La Paz, and Usulután. Although showing
aslight reduction to the previous year, El Salvador was
the country with the highest homicide rate in Latin America
for the second time in succession. A rising number of clashes
between gang members, police and security forces also resulted
in at least 459 confrontations throughout the year. By
the end of October, police and special forces had arrested
approx. 1,500 individuals, including 44 gang leaders, and
seized 350 kg of cocaine as well as 349 automatic weapons
and assault rifles, such as M-16s and AK-47s.
Between January and March, the government outlined additional
measures to its hardline policies of 2015, and proposed
new initiatives to Congress to decrease the overall homicide
rate and to break up criminal structures by dismantling the
gangs' leadership and confiscating their financial assets.
On March 8, President Salvador Sanchez Cerén stated that
''war'' was the only option to fight the Mara Salvatrucha and
the Barrio 18. His spokesman later reiterated that the government
would not negotiate with the gangs. On April 20,
the new Special Reaction Force (FERES) was launched, combining
600 soldiers and 400 police officers equipped with
helicopters, armored vehicles, and assault weapons. One
day later, the Legislative Assembly passed anti-gang reforms,
classifying the gangs as terrorist organizations and prohibiting
negotiations with gang members. Another joint task force,
the Intervention and Territorial Recuperation Force (FIRT),
was deployed to the Barrio 18 stronghold municipality Soyapango,
San Salvador department, on April 27.
Throughout April, the homicide rate dropped significantly after
representatives of the gangs had ordered their members
to stop killing. The government later claimed these developments
to be a result of their newly-implemented security
measures. On July 7, four alleged gang members died in
an ambush on a police station in Ilobasco, San Salvador department.
Police seized one 12-gauge shotgun and several
pistols from the scene. Three weeks later, prosecutors stated
that since the start of ''Operation Jaque'' in 2015, one of the
largest operations ever launched against the Mara gangs, 120
gang members were arrested and 157 properties raided.
Since August, gang attacks on police officers and security
forces rose again. On September 1, gang members assassinated
Sub Commissioner Alberto Marroquín andapoliceman
in Ahuachapán, in the eponymous department. Marroquín
was the first high-ranking officer being killed by gangs since
the beginning of the conflict. After eight police officers and
three soldiers had been killed between November 6 and 16,
Security and Justice Minister Mauricio Ramírez Landaverde
declared these homicides as a direct gang response to ''Operation
Jaque''.
Two days later, the government announced the launch of
another anti-gang offensive called ''Operation Nemesis''. According
to Vice President Oscar Ortiz, the operation should
''punish the gangs'' for the latest killings and would include
further military support for police patrols as well as integrated
coordination and intelligence sharing between state agencies.
In late December, spokesmen of the Mara Salvatrucha
announced to work on anew proposal to resume dialog with
the government, society, and with leaders of the Barrio 18.
As in 2015, police members and soldiers were accused of
being involved in extrajudicial executions of gang members.
On April 25, the Inspector General for Human Rights, David
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