Because of factors such as business closures and lack of opportunities, it is estimated that criminal activity costs Honduras and El Salvador 16% of GDP, and in the case of Guatemala, its losses could amount to 7% of its production.
In Central America, the human costs of crime remain one of the highest in the world. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—referred to as the Northern Triangle— account for about four-and-a-half percent of homicides worldwide despite only having about one-half-percent of the world's population.
A raíz del robo de un contenedor que transportaba productos lácteos, la cámara del sector hizo un llamado a todos los gremios vinculados al comercio internacional y local, para que refuercen sus medidas de precaución.
In a statement, the Nicaraguan Chamber of the Dairy Sector (CANISLAC) reported that on Friday, December 13, 2019, the first container of Quesillo was stolen in the history of Nicaragua.
The country's Assembly has agreed to prepare a reform of the Budget Law to use the resources in the Citizen Security Plan.
The institution reported that the resources to be incorporated come from funds pending from the special contributions of the second quarter and from the funds collected in the last quarter, with total resources to be distributed amounting to $22,822,950.
Entrepreneurs in El Salvador believe that the first measure that should be implemented by the government that will take office in 2019 is to regain control of territories dominated by gangs.
Citizen insecurity, political uncertainty and low levels of investment are the main factors that are still affecting the quality of life of the population and the business climate in El Salvador.
Analysis undertaken by the Salvadoran Foundation for Development (Fusades) points out the main factors that are preventing the Salvadoran economy from achieving better levels of growth.In its Legal and Institutional Report, it notes recent advances in trade facilitation, but points out that public insecurity continues to be the factor that most negatively affects the quality of life of the population and the investment climate.
In El Salvador every week at least two companies report that they intend to close down due to the impact of extortion, a problem that, far from being resolved, seems to be getting worse every year.
Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador (Camarasal), said that the country's employers do not see any significant improvement in the security climate, following the six month extension last April of the extraordinary measures of the Sánchez Cerén administration to try to control crime and insecurity.
Salvadoran business owners point out that the main causes of the country's poor economic performance is still growing insecurity and a lack of a clear political course.
The Salvadoran business chambers agree that the beginning of the year has not been the best, since the obstacles that for several months have made it difficult to operate and grow private sector activities still remain.
A report by InSight Crime highlights the homicide rate registered in Costa Rica in 2017, which was 12.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest number in its history.
The report indicates that Costa Rica is a country that has traditionally been considered "peaceful," and in respect to the escalation of the homicide rate, an increase that local authorities attribute to organized crime, the report indicates that "... lack of retrospective and a vague methodology is weakening the authorities' attempts to attribute blame to organized crime."
In some areas of El Salvador, the difference between having or not having a security gate can vary the price of a used home that is for sale by up to 30%.
In the metropolitan area, the sale prices of real estate are so variable that, according to real estate agents, it is almost impossible to get data on the average value of a square meter in a given area.
The United States has renewed its travel alert warning that crimes such as extortion, assault and robbery are common in the country.
From a press release issued by the US State Department:
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to El Salvador due to the high rates of crime and violence. El Salvador has one of the highest homicide levels in the world and crimes such as extortion, assault and robbery are common. This replaces the Travel Warning for El Salvador dated January 15, 2016.
Insecurity and high political uncertainty are preventing growth of private investment in the country, increasing the gap with the rest of Central America.
The mayoral office of San Salvador has announced it will be investing $15 million in the installation of a video surveillance system to complement the 500 cameras already operating in the capital.
Although the initiative of the mayoral office has been criticized by some sectors, Mayor Najib Bukele stated that the bidding process will be transparent and will be supervised by the Attorney General.
Lack of a "country agreement to escape the vicious circle of lack of growth, investment and employment, and excessive bureaucracy" continues to affect the business climate.
From a report on the Legal and Institutional Situation by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development:
Projects are becoming more expensive due to the fact that they increasingly include more security measures and in areas such as La Libertad, Soyapango, Ilopango and Apopa, some lots and homes are even losing value.
The most vulnerable to extortion are small and medium enterprises, which employ half of the economically active population.
From the executive summary of a study by Fusades:
In El Salvador, the crime of extortion has become one of the main problems affecting the work and economic activity of enterprises in recent years. Results from the Business Dynamics Survey conducted by FUSADES since 1991, consistently show that micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are more vulnerable to this crime than medium and large ones.
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