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From Our Own Correspondent: El Salvador's brutal battle with gangs

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20/05/2023 GMT

El Salvador's brutal battle with gangs

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, El Salvador's brutal battle with gangs

Breaking the hold of criminal gangs on El Salvador, but at what cost?

El Salvador's war on gangs leaves tens of thousands in jail; plus power struggles in Pakistan, learning to live again after escaping North Korea, and being overweight in Brazil.

Pascale Harter introduces stories from BBC correspondents on El Salvador, Pakistan, North Korea and Brazil.

El Salvador’s president has called himself the world’s 'coolest dictator'. Since coming to power a year ago, he's instigated a 'war' on the criminal gangs who until then had dominated the country, earning it the title murder capital of the world. A state of emergency’s been imposed and tens of thousands of suspected gang members have been arrested - so many the government’s had to build a new mega-prison to contain them. But human rights groups say many innocent people are among those being locked up. Will Grant reports.

Pakistan has been convulsed in recent weeks by economic and political crises. The arrest of the former prime minister, Imran Khan, on charges of corruption sparked violent clashes across a country already reeling from high inflation and dismal economic growth. Caroline Davies looks back at the tumultuous events of recent weeks.

A few weeks ago, From Our Own Correspondent revealed the terrible ordeal a young North Korean woman had to go through in order to escape her country. But for North Korean defectors, reaching safety is not the end of their story. In their new lives, they face the challenge of adapting to new ways of life, unlearning everything they've been taught since childhood. Michael Bristow hears how one defector, Park Jihyun, has adapted to life in the UK since escaping North Korea.

And in Brazil, our correspondent Bob Howard discovers that, despite recent measures there to protect the overweight from prejudice, there’s still a culture of discrimination - and Brazil's buses are particularly difficult to negotiate for those who're not stick thin. 

Producer: Louise Hidalgo
Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

(Photo by Handout/Presidencia El Salvador via Getty Images )

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