From Cradle to Conflict: Child Soldiers’ Growing Role in Latin America’s Drug Wars

Safe Passage, April 17, 2015


News - Child Soldiers

From COHA.org
By, COHA Research
April 24, 2012

El Salvador

“The homicide rate in El Salvador has skyrocketed to over 66 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the majority of perpetrators are found to be children under the age of 18… Some gang leaders are as young as 16 and recruit children from 9 years of age to do their ‘dirty’ work.”

Students and teachers are threatened and harassed.  They cannot even go to school without being affected by the violence.  “Teachers are intimidated into paying ‘renta’ or protection money to neighborhood gang members from each paycheck.” Not only that, but the students also have to “pay the gangs a quarter a day to be able to study” without being bothered.

To read the full article or learn more about the situation of children in El Salvador, please click HERE.