Apopa, El Salvador mayor avoids more serious charge

For good reason, Salvadorans are concerned about gang and organized crime infiltration of municipal government in their country. Those concerns came into greater focus last week when former Apopa mayor José Elías Hernández was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for illicit association with the Barrio 18 gang. The verdict is a bit of a mixed bag, however, as he was not convicted on the more serious charge of homicide.

As Angelika Albaladejo notes in her article, Hernández is not the only municipal level official under scrutiny for forging relationships with the country's two most dangerous gangs.

Several other former municipal officials are also currently under investigation for ties to gangs. Miguel Ángel Jaime, the former mayor of Usulután, was arrested in June 2017, on charges of financing multiple cliques of the Barrio 18’s rival, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13). José Manuel Turcios, the former mayor of Jucuapa, was also arrested on similar charges in September 2017. In early January 2018, Héctor Gómez Escobar, an alleged gang member on El Salvador’s list of 100 most wanted criminals, was arrested after being selected to run for office in upcoming municipal elections.

The recordings of FMLN and ARENA officials negotiating with gangs in 2014, the ongoing dialogue between gangs and political officials that must go on before campaign activities can be held, and these allegations rightfully throw into doubt the legitimacy of the March elections. Of course, that is in addition to Supreme Court decisions and Supreme Electoral Tribunal behavior.