This week, El Salvador’s Minister of Security, Manuel Melgar, submitted a letter of resignation to President Mauricio Funes, who accepted it. While there are many discussions about why he resigned, many are also speculating on who will take his place.
Former Minister Melgar was a Comandante in the FMLN militancy during El Salvador’s 12-year civil war. When journalist turned politician Mauricio Funes won the country’s presidency in 2009, he appointed Mr. Melgar to the post of Security Ministry.
During the 2 years and five months that Mr. Melgar held the post, El Salvador’s murder rate continued its steady clime upward, averaging 12 murders a day. The United Nations recently reported that El Salvaodr has the second highest murder rate in the world, behind only Honduras.
Many have blamed Minister Melgar for the increase, though others have noted that the numbers were steadily climbing in the final year of the Saca administration. And the rise in violence is also a region-wide issue and not specific to El Salvador. Whether Mr. Melgar is to blame for the violence and insecurity or not is a question that will likely be debated for some time.
There are reports that the United States government conditioned the signing of the Partnership for Growth on Mr. Melgar resigning his post. While there is any confirmation of this report, his resignation came just days after the agreement was signed, and much of the Partnership for Growth action plan revolves around reforms that aim to improve security. There are also reports that he was planning to submit his resignation in October, a month before the Partnership for Growth agreement was signed, but put off his resignation due to Tropical Storm 12-E that caused historic flooding throughout the region.
Days after his departure, the conversation has now turned to his replacement. Members of the leftist FMLN party and rightwing ARENA party have said the next Minister of Security should not be a military figure. Sigfirdo Reyes, the President of the Legislative Assembly, recently stated that if the military were given a larger role in domestic affairs, it would be a “terrible regression” on what the country accomplished since the signing of the 1992 Peace Accords that ended 12-years of civil war.
The Peace Accords demilitarized the national police force and El Salvador’s Constitution prohibits the military from taking a role in domestic security issues. Under the Funes Administration, and Mr. Melgar’s leadership, the military has been deployed to patrol urban neighborhoods controlled by El Salvador’s notorious gangs. The Funes administration has also used the military to help close the nation’s porous borders and limit the trafficking of people, guns, narcotics, and other contraband.
According to former Attorney General, Romeo Melara Granillo, no matter what kind of background the new minister has, civilian or military, he or she must be able to exercise “inter-institutional cooperation that would fortify investigations [and operations] carried out by the ministry.
Voices on the Border 
It was the right thing to do…Manuel Melgar is banned to enter the U.S. He masterminded the “Zona Rosa” murders of the U.S. Marines in 1985, among other atrocities. I’m surprised it took this long. Note that a few days prior to his resignation, he was sworn in as a Representative for the Central American Parliament, probably to avoid immunity gaps.
He probably resigned because his boss is allowing the United States to once again dictate security measures for the region–the same security measures that have made a disaster out of the situations in Colombia and México.
@1, what were the U.S. Marines doing in El Salvador, pray tell?
What were they doing there is incidental, did they deserve to get slaughter, along with inocent bystanders like a dear relative of mine?
Don´t get me wrong, history has spoken and uprising was necesary. But don´t look at me in the eye and tell these people were casualties of war.
JFK, once said: Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names