El Salvador's gang truce

I had a new piece on El Salvador's gang truce up at Al Jazeera on Saturday. It's a little dated now since I wrote it a week ago, but still good news for as long as it lasts in El Salvador.

Negotiating a truce between the country's two main gangs does not solve the causes of violence, but it does provide an opening for the government and the Salvadoran people to take important steps to tackle the root causes of the country's violence.

President Funes has said that he is going to call on all sectors of Salvadoran society to construct "a national accord that will guarantee the increasing eradication of violence and insecurity in the country". According to Funes, such an accord will tackle "the social exclusion and the lack of employment, education, health and recreation opportunities for the youth". However, any agreement will not include a pardon for gang members.

The US Embassy in El Salvador has remained silent on the announced truce. However, this would be an opportune moment for the US to demonstrate its support for alternative efforts to reduce violence in El Salvador and other parts of Central America. The US came under strong criticism after it dismissed Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina's call for a discussion of drug decriminalisation.

Instead of announcing that it has donated 47 new pickup trucks and 365 computer workstations to the Salvadoran police force, the US should announce that it is doubling or tripling resources destined to rehabilitate former gang members. The US could also announce that it will move towards changing the immigration status of 215,000 Salvadorans living with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States to permanent residency status.

Neither of these efforts, on its own, will be a game changer. However, it will show that the US is willing to work with our hemispheric partners, outside the box if necessary, to improve their lives of the people of Latin America.

Previous gang truces in El Salvador have failed and it's not clear that this one will last either. However it is important to remember that for each day that the truce holds, 10 more Salvadorans live to see another day. In a country with a majority Catholic population, Salvadorans might be allowed to breathe a little easier this Holy Week and it's worth giving the truce a shot.