Sánchez Cerén speaks on public security

Salvadoran president Salvador Sánchez Cerén gave a press conference today as he meet with his security cabinet to talk about the crime problem in the country.  The year 2014 closed with 3912 murders in El Salvador, an increase of 57% over 2013.   Police also reported that almost 1500 gang members were counted among those murder victims.

The president acknowledged the increasing level of homicides committed by the gangs.   Despite that, Sánchez Cerén said his government would not negotiate with the gangs and was going to pursue them  to bring them to justice.

He announced that his government was working on plans to combat the violence, the majority of which he blamed on the gangs fighting for control of territories where they could commit extortion or sell drugs.

Sánchez Cerén acknowledged that homicides had gone down during the period of the truce, but indicated that the government would not follow such a strategy in the future because the truce had allowed the gangs to grow and strengthen themselves.

So we know that the government's strategy is not the truce process,  but I don't think we have any idea what the government's strategy is.    Meanwhile the murders continue...