Past Event

Confronting Criminal Groups in El Salvador While Strengthening the Rule of Law

In January 2016, following a year in which El Salvador became the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere, former police director general Mauricio Ramírez Landaverde was named Minister of Justice and Public Security, while career prosecutor Douglas Meléndez Ruiz was elected Attorney General by a majority in Congress.  In the months since they took office, both ministers have worked to reform Salvadoran police and prosecutorial institutions, confront organized crime, and address allegations of corruption and human rights violations within the ranks.  Speaking via teleconference from San Salvador, AG Meléndez Ruiz and Minister Ramírez Landaverde discussed how they have dealt with these multiple challenges and how they are seeking to strengthen the rule of law in El Salvador.

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Please note: This event was in Spanish without translation. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Public Security joined us via teleconference from San Salvador.

Hosted By

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.   Read more

Latin America Program