Territorial Control Plan
[9] According to an opinion poll conducted by the Central American University during the 2000s, 20.8 percent of Salvadorans believed that gangs were the biggest problem facing the country.
[7] In July 2003, Salvadoran President Francisco Flores implemented anti-gang policies known as La Mano Dura (Spanish for "The Iron Fist") in an attempt to combat gang influence and lower the country's homicide rate.
[10] Saca's successor, Mauricio Funes, ended some policies of Super Mano Dura, such as mass raids of gang territory, in favor of pursuing criminal investigations.
[11] In February 2012, Funes increased the militarization of the PNC and instituted a curfew to prevent gang members from being in the streets at night.
[26][27][28] According to an opinion poll conducted by the Technological University of El Salvador in August 2013, 47 percent of respondents believed the truce benefited the gangs.
In July 2020, Attorney General Raúl Melara issued an arrest warrant for Funes for his role in organizing the truce.
[33] Funes was tried in absentia between 26 April and 29 May 2023, during which, he was found guilty of all charges presented against him and he was sentenced to serve 14 years imprisonment—8 for illicit association and 6 for failure to perform his duties.
[39] Mijango was ultimately sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in 2018 for charges unrelated to the truce[40] and died in prison in August 2023.
[46] Due to the surge in homicides, on 25 August 2015, the Supreme Court officially designated both MS-13 and Barrio 18 as terrorist organizations, stating that both gangs were responsible for "systematic attacks on the lives, security, and personal integrity of the population".
[53] On 19 June 2019, Bukele announced that a security plan aimed at disrupting the finances of gangs in the country would be implemented at midnight.
[56] Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, the director of the PNC, stated that phase one—known as "preparation"—would be implemented in 12 of the country's 262 municipalities.
Known as "modernization", phase three sought to modernize the weapons and vehicles possessed by the country's security forces to more efficiently combat crime;[62] The phase demanded the issuance of new firearms, bulletproof vests, helmets, radios, night vision cameras, helicopters, and drones to the country's security forces.
The two largest political parties—the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)—both voted against its approval, questioning the effectiveness of the Territorial Control Plan and demanding more transparency in where the money would be allocated.
[66] Mario Ponce, the president of the Legislative Assembly, described the incident as an "attempted coup", to which Bukele responded by stating "if I was a dictator, I would have taken control of everything".
[67] On 18 February 2020, 1,400 more soldiers were mobilized to enforce the Territorial Control Plan in response to the Legislative Assembly's refusal to approve the loan from the CABEI.
During the announcement, Bukele stated that "[a]ll those who are thinking about doing something should think about it multiple times before going to jail" ("[t]odos los que estén pensando en hacer algo, deben pensarlo varias veces antes de terminar en la cárcel") as a message to the gangs.
[69] On 23 November 2022, at a ceremony held in San Juan Opico, Bukele announced the beginning of phase five of the Territorial Control Plan.
[71][72] In February 2023, Bukele posted a video on Twitter of him and members of his cabinet touring the prison, named the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), prior to his opening.
[77] On 15 September 2023, during a speech celebrating the country's 202nd anniversary of its independence from Spain, Bukele announced the beginning of phase six of the Territorial Control Plan known as "integration".
[78] To implement phase six, Bukele announced the formation of the National Department of Integration led by Alejandro Gutman, the president of the Forever Foundation.
This initiative aims to promote the labor inclusion of older adults by creating spaces for professional reintegration and leveraging their accumulated experience in various productive sectors.
