From Exodus to Exitus Causes of post-war violence in El ... - eDoc

From Exodus to Exitus 33
dure the number of prison inmates has risen from about 7,000 (in 1999) to more than
12,000 (2004, 2005 and 2006). If this rhythm is maintained, the number of prisoners will
rise to over 19,000 by 2009 (Procuraduría 2004: 6f). Only 62 % of inmates have been convicted.
Salvadoran penal institutions are on average overcrowded by around 175 %, as
they have a real capacity for 6,000. There are sensational cases in which up to 70 individuals
are packed together into a shared cell (Procuraduría 2006: 11). 35 inmates in dormitories
which are designed for 15 is the norm, as in Centro Penal Quetzaltepeque. Not all
prisoners have a bed here; there is no centralized serving of meals: the prisoners have to be
self-sufficient. The penal institution has neither psychologist nor priest. If inmates want to
work, they can only do so with their own resources. They are locked up in their cells for
11 hours, without any dedicated guard (Martínez, V. 2006). During this time those informal
power structures of mareros are created, which repeatedly explode into clashes.
In the so-called solitary confinement cells the prisoners have to relieve themselves into
holes sunk into the floor of the cell. They use the same holes to wash themselves. Alternatively
they relieve themselves into plastic bags which are left in the cell. The cells are exposed
to sun and rain, cockroaches, rats and flies. There have been cases brought to light
of tear gas being fed into the cells. In particular, prisoners awaiting trial are not provided
with any food, unless the police officers on duty pay for this out of their own pocket. The
“cuartos de risa” (laughter rooms) in Apopa achieved a macabre notoriety, named for the
laughter of those on duty there over the twitchings of prisoners who were being subjected
to electric shocks. These rooms now reportedly no longer exist.
Lack of supervision and increasing criminalization: One of the consequences of overcrowding
is prison massacres. On 18 August 2004 during a clash between prisoners at the
Penitenciaría Central La Esperanza 31 inmates were killed and 30 wounded. This was the
biggest prison massacre in El Salvador since 1993. This particular penal institution was
overcrowded by 305 %. This means it had 1,638 more inmates than the space available.
The most recent example of a prison massacre is at Centro Penal Apanteos, where 21 inmates
died between 5 and 6 January 2007. Although this violent action had been in the
air, the authorities took no preventive measures of any kind. This penal institution is
overcrowded by 146 % (Procuraduría 2006: 30). The mareros conduct their mirins in
prison without any problem, organizing criminal actions by mobile phone and being supplied
with drugs 14 and weapons by visitors. They are also able to conduct their satanic
rituals, likewise without any problem. The prison walls are covered with graffiti, in which
gravestone upon gravestone, but also the names of murdered friends and the devil, can be
seen. Over years the mareros have subjugated these surrounding to their psyche. “They
have made the detention centre into their ‘casa destroyer’”, comments the Roman Catholic
priest and expert on the maras quoted above. Imprisonment was no punishment for
the mareros. They already knew that they had no future (Civilian in 2006). In spite of
these serious failings, the director of the Salvadoran penal system in office at the time of
14 The former head of the Salvadoran penal system, Roberto Vilanova, considered it deeply regrettable that it
is legally forbidden to carry out manual searches of visitors, including especially women, for drugs hidden
in their genital areas (Vilanova Chica 2006).