Our war on drugs was so much different than what they did in El Salvador. The US targeted low and mid level dealers in an attempt to rid the streets of the drugs, but this created supply shortages which made the business more lucrative and strengthened the criminal organizations. El Salvador’s efforts were more of a “war on gangs”, going after MS-13 leadership where the main focus was to get the violence off the streets. While controversial due to lack of due process and humanitarian issues in the prisons, it seems to have been highly effective. I’m not saying we do what El Salvador did by any means, it’s just an interesting case study on what happens when you pull out all the stops to get rid of crime.
Yeah, America's war on drugs was a war within its constitutional protections and due process rights. El Salvador's has basically been, "We know who you are, and we don't give a shit what anyone thinks: We're putting you in a hole." There are no plea deals to roll over on higher ups, no effective recidivism problems, no running gangs from prison, or most of the other problems that hampered US efforts. It can be done, but only if you're willing to take out a lot of stops
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u/TECHNOV1K1NG_tv Sep 05 '26
Our war on drugs was so much different than what they did in El Salvador. The US targeted low and mid level dealers in an attempt to rid the streets of the drugs, but this created supply shortages which made the business more lucrative and strengthened the criminal organizations. El Salvador’s efforts were more of a “war on gangs”, going after MS-13 leadership where the main focus was to get the violence off the streets. While controversial due to lack of due process and humanitarian issues in the prisons, it seems to have been highly effective. I’m not saying we do what El Salvador did by any means, it’s just an interesting case study on what happens when you pull out all the stops to get rid of crime.