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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-weight:bold'>US State
Department Official Slanders FMLN Party<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>CISPES Update<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Tuesday,
June 24, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Also in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Buses
Burned in Protest of Fare Hikes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Peace
prize awarded to President Saca stands in contrast with social conditions in <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</span><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Police
director promises to cut murder rate</span><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>State
Department official announces crime-fighting funds for <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>, slanders FMLN party<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>During a recent visit to <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John
Negroponte announced the financing of the so-called Mérida Initiative, a $1.6
billion funding package recently approved by the U.S. Congress that seeks to
fight drug trafficking and organized crime in Mexico and Central America. $7
million of the initiative’s funds will go to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
National Civilian Police, whose sub-director, Luís Tobar Prieto, says the money
will be used to purchase “equipment for investigating narcotrafficking
networks.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Meanwhile, Negroponte
took advantage of his visit to make public statements regarding <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s domestic politics. Notably,
he congratulated President Saca on his work to combat organized crime, while
expressing his concern about allegations of links between the FMLN opposition
party (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) and the FARC, <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colombia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
armed rebel group. After slandering the FMLN by stating that alleged ties to
the FARC “are very troubling,” and declaring that “these are
things that should not happen,” he condemned “any type of
intervention” in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
electoral process.<span class=txt><o:p></o:p></span></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span class=txt><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span class=txt><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Charles Glazer, U.S. Ambassador
to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:country-region>, subsequently reiterated Negroponte’s
warning, stating that “any group that collaborates or expresses
friendship with the FARC is not a friend of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” an allusion
clearly aimed at the FMLN. These blatant attempts to discredit the FMLN have
been made in spite of recent promises by the State Department to work
collaboratively with whatever government comes to power in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s presidential election, to
be held on March 15, 2009.</span></font></span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Buses
burned in protest of fare hikes<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>As the result of recent
legislation approved at the behest of business owners in the transportation
industry, bus fares within <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
urban centers have increased by $0.10, while interdepartmental fares have risen
by 40%. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>With the recent fare
increases, transportation costs now make up an even larger portion of the monthly
expenses of those working-class Salvadorans who earn the minimum wage of $157
to 174 per month, depending on the industry (according to data published by the
Salvadoran Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social). The financial hardship
posed by the rising cost of transportation, as well as the government’s
inability to resolve the situation, has been received with growing discontent
by the Salvadoran population.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This frustration was
borne out last Monday, June 16, when a group allegedly comprised of University
of <st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador students set fire to
two buses near the university’s campus. Several armed men wearing masks
stopped the busses and proceeded to burn them in protest of the fare increase. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The transportation sector
is among the most heavily-subsidized in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and fares are capped by the government in order to ensure affordable bus
service. However, a series of laws raising the maximum fare have been enacted
in recent years. The owners of the country’s principal bus companies,
primarily supporters of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
right-wing political parties (AR<st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>NA
and PCN), argue that their businesses are facing financial losses and have
refused to rule out the need for more fare increases in the near future.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Peace
prize awarded to President Saca stands in contrast with social conditions in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On June 10, Salvadoran
president <st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>lías Antonio Saca was
awarded the 2008 <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pat</st1:PersonName>h to Peace Award
by the Catholic foundation of the same name. According to Saca’s office,
the prize recognized “a series of political initiatives in support of
democracy and peace, and [Saca’s commitment to] reducing poverty and
fighting criminality in the country.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>However, the social and
economic conditions facing the majority of the Salvadoran population seem to
contradict the values represented by the award, which is awarded annually by
the Vatican-affiliated <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pat</st1:PersonName>h to Peace
Foundation in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State>.
Saca’s supposed successes in the area of public security have not been
reflected by homicide and crime rates, which on the contrary have left <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region> as one of the region’s most
dangerous countries. According to recent public opinion polls, high crime rates
continue to be identified as among the most serious problems facing <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>According to Miguel
Guzman, a representative of the <st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>cclesiastical
Base Communities of <st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador (C<st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>B<st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>S),
Saca’s selection for this year’s <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pat</st1:PersonName>h
to Peace Award is meant to influence <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
2009 elections. Guzman states that ‘the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Pat</st1:PersonName>h to Peace Foundation have an interest in the
continuation of the AR<st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>NA
government’s policies.” The award serves “to raise [AR<st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>NA’s] tarnished image… they are worried
about the next elections,” Guzman concluded. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Pat</st1:PersonName>h to Peace Award was given to Saca at a time of
diminished popularity for AR<st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>NA,
while the opposition FMLN party has seen its political stature on the rise. A
number of recent polls give the FMLN a clear advantage in next year’s
elections.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Police
director promises to cut murder rate<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Faced with growing
criticism of the Saca government’s inability to confront growing violence
throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the
Director of the National Civilian Police (PNC), Francisco Rovira, held a press
conference on June 6 to announce a plan to dramatically cut the homicide rate
over the next two months. Rovira’s plan, which aims to reduce the daily
homicide rate from nine to four by August 7, centers on arresting some 500 gang
members. The effectiveness of this strategy was immediately called into
question by the Salvadoran non-governmental organization Medicina Legal, which
pointed out that the majority of murders in the country are not committed by
gang members. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The experience of recent
years has proven increased incarceration to be an inefficient method of
decreasing the homicide rate in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. As
prison populations have soared, murders have not diminished. Official
government statistics indicate that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
penal system, built to accommodate a capacity of 8,100 inmates, currently
houses 17,409 people. While increased incarceration rates have failed to lower
the homicide rate, it has instead lead to increased violence within <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on">E</st1:PersonName>l
Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s jails. So far this year, 19
prisoners have been killed in a series of attacks at the jails in Cojutepeque,
Chalatenengo, and Ciudad Barrios. Gilbert Cáceres, Director General of the
prison system, recently admitted that “it is difficult to keep control
over all of the inmates,” given the overpopulation of the prisons. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Public Security Minister
René Figueroa expressed his support for PNC Director Rovira’s plan.
Figueroa affirmed that, with much effort, the government would succeed in
decreasing the homicide rate in the coming months, despite having failed at
this same goal for the past four years. However, Figueroa added that
“there is no need to be morbid and marry ourselves to [reducing the
homicide rate to] a specific number” per day.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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