Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Catholic Gang Truces in Latin America. Is this a new trend?
El Salvador
El Salvador Catholic Church: Pawn or Player in Gang Truce?
Monday, 13 May 2013
El Salvador Catholic Bishop Fabio Colindres El Salvador Catholic Bishop Fabio Colindres
Before Bishop Fabio Colindres told Salvadoran government mediators in early 2012 that he would participate in a secret negotiation to stop the fighting between El Salvador's two largest gangs, three top level Catholic Church officials had already told the government representatives that they wanted nothing to do with the talks. Colindres' decision to participate in the controversial gang truce could have far reaching consequences for the Church, one of El Salvador's most respected institutions.
The rifts caused by Colindres' participation in the truce -- which was signed by El Salvador's two largest street gangs, the MS-13 and the Barrio 18 in March of last year -- are still playing out in this Central American nation of seven million people. On May 12, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, the collective body of the Church hierarchy, emitted a public statement questioning the truce.
...
Colindres' role was particularly controversial because he is a bishop, a member of the Church hierarchy. His participation was, in essence, a nod from the country's Catholic Church that brokering this truce was in the interest of El Salvador, despite misgivings from some of his colleagues. It seemed to help legitimize the process to the public and the country's elite. Colindres is from the Church's more conservative wing, thus his participation may also serve as a means to involve the business community in what is an ongoing process.
The Bishop told InSight Crime he had decided to participate without consulting the Catholic Conference of Bishops and that he was motivated by the Church's long-standing humanitarian role, specifically in improving the conditions for prisoners. However, the Church's role appears to be more symbolic than real. Colindres was not Munguía's or Mijango's first choice, and the negotiators openly stated they needed a Church representative in order to legitimize the truce.
(See InSight Crime's coverage of El Salvador's gang truce)
Monday, 13 May 2013
El Salvador Catholic Bishop Fabio Colindres El Salvador Catholic Bishop Fabio Colindres
Before Bishop Fabio Colindres told Salvadoran government mediators in early 2012 that he would participate in a secret negotiation to stop the fighting between El Salvador's two largest gangs, three top level Catholic Church officials had already told the government representatives that they wanted nothing to do with the talks. Colindres' decision to participate in the controversial gang truce could have far reaching consequences for the Church, one of El Salvador's most respected institutions.
The rifts caused by Colindres' participation in the truce -- which was signed by El Salvador's two largest street gangs, the MS-13 and the Barrio 18 in March of last year -- are still playing out in this Central American nation of seven million people. On May 12, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, the collective body of the Church hierarchy, emitted a public statement questioning the truce.
...
Colindres' role was particularly controversial because he is a bishop, a member of the Church hierarchy. His participation was, in essence, a nod from the country's Catholic Church that brokering this truce was in the interest of El Salvador, despite misgivings from some of his colleagues. It seemed to help legitimize the process to the public and the country's elite. Colindres is from the Church's more conservative wing, thus his participation may also serve as a means to involve the business community in what is an ongoing process.
The Bishop told InSight Crime he had decided to participate without consulting the Catholic Conference of Bishops and that he was motivated by the Church's long-standing humanitarian role, specifically in improving the conditions for prisoners. However, the Church's role appears to be more symbolic than real. Colindres was not Munguía's or Mijango's first choice, and the negotiators openly stated they needed a Church representative in order to legitimize the truce.
(See InSight Crime's coverage of El Salvador's gang truce)
Honduras
Catholic Church in Honduras Initiates Gang Truce
The Catholic Church in Honduras is reaching out to both criminal gangs, such as Mara Salvatrucha and M18, and the government to negotiate a cessation to violence, similar to truces reached with church mediation in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Colombia. Agenzia Fides reports:
http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/05/03/catholic-church-honduras-initiates-gang-truce
The Catholic Church in Honduras is reaching out to both criminal gangs, such as Mara Salvatrucha and M18, and the government to negotiate a cessation to violence, similar to truces reached with church mediation in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Colombia. Agenzia Fides reports:
"We are in a process of recovery of the respect for life, we are listening to both gangs, but the government has not yet given an answer," said Mgr. Romulo Emiliani Sánchez, C.M.F Auxiliary Bishop of San Pedro Sula to a local radio station, announcing the start of a dialogue with the main criminal gangs in Honduras, to reach a truce similar to that in force in El Salvador.
http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/05/03/catholic-church-honduras-initiates-gang-truce
I'm too lazy right now to dig up the links about Guatemala and Colombia but I thought this was interesting and I hope it bears fruit. Life's too short to spend it in a gang.
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
