On Day two of the gang-enforced “Paro” my friend Chata and I braved a trip from Los Planes de Renderos, where we live, into the city to check out the market and major bus stops. We saw NO buses while driving down the mountain. We did see, however, numerous pick-ups and commercial size trucks hauling [...]

On Monday night, September 6, 2010, a series of events began that was later revealed as a gang-imposed halt (“paro”) of bus routes and businesses throughout El Salvador.  A microbus on route 29-F in Ilopango (colonia Felipe) was burned.  Threatening notes were left for business owners and buses to shut down or else pay the [...]

Her name has been changed to protect her identity.  Marina is a friend of ours, and related to my husband as a 2nd cousin.    Her boyfriend, we’ll call him “Juan,” was relatively new to the neighborhood, having lived there only about 6 months.  He and Marina lived in a small house, without electricity or water.  [...]