c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña

Extortion, even as small as $5, costs El Salvador $756 million every year

$756 million

Extortion paid by business owners, often to criminal gangs, costs El Salvador $756 million every year, or 3% of its GDP.

Published   |  Photo by AP/Alex Peña
c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

The cost of violence for the country, companies, and the population is $4 billion, including what is spent on healthcare and security.

c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

Criminals can extort for as little as $5, $10, or $15, which adds up for workers who sometimes earn between $150 and $250 a month.

c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

Business owners have to pay weekly or monthly bribes to the gangs that control the areas where they work. The main gangs are the MS-13 and the 18th Street.

c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

El Salvador has some 60,000 gang members. Many victims of gang violence flee the Central American nation and seek refuge in Mexico, the US, and Canada.

c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

The Trump administration recently proposed cutting aid to Mexico and Central American countries, including El Salvador.

c-eight-AP_178941903895-Alex Peña
$756 million

Some of that money is used to fight the violence, poverty, and corruption that actually make people leave the region and migrate to the US.

Published

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