Thanks for your reply!

Clearly we agree that crime of this kind is a very big problem in El Salvador as well as worldwide. It is a social phenomenon and as such must be addressed.

Yes I think the leveling logic against innocent and guilty people just because they live in slums or are extorted by gangs and deserve jail or death finds me 100% opposed. Maybe a few people might feel a somewhat greater sense of security but that's fleeting...

Crime is not going to stop, nor are prisoners going to become less violent or change lives. The same is true in society. It's not going to stop producing delinquent people.

Punishment does not necessarily lead to obedience. It usually brings the opposite results especially for people who have nothing to lose...

So my suggestion/approach is different and certainly not transitory. It will take a long time. First of all it has to do with the society itself that needs to realize how bad the mutual strife is.

This starts with education and the social values that must be promoted. From the schools to the neighborhoods and the people of El Salvador. If anything should be funded it is education and schools. Public free and compulsory education. It all starts with it. Financing health care for all. It is unthinkable that people are dying on the streets. Rehabilitation programs and informing people about addictive substances. Ex-prisoner reintegration programs and work. These are a few that come to mind...

It may seem utopian or very difficult to accomplish all of these. But I certainly think it's a way of moving society towards a goal.

It must seem strange to you because I am so extensively involved with El Salvador. I had seen a documentary by a Greek journalist who had done a big report on the children of El Salvador and the gangs.

Can you please answer me something else? Why don't you mention the corruption in the security forces who often (if not always) collaborate with criminals? Don't the secret services play a key role in the drug trade?