truce resulted in an overall decrease in homicides. The government recorded 2,576 homicides in 2012, a 41 percent decrease from the 4,371 homicides recorded in 2011; in 2013, the government recorded 2,492 homicides, a slight decrease from 2012. With the truce's collapse in mid-2014, homicides returned to pre-truce levels and the country recorded 3,912 homicides in 2014. The year after the truce ended, 2015, saw 6,657 homicides, the most since 1983 during the Salvadoran Civil War. In the years following the truce's collapse, several individuals have been arrested, charged, and ordered to stand trial regarding their involvement with the truce, including Funes, Munguía, and Mijango. Background Criminal activity Criminal gangs have been a major problem in El Salvador since the conclusion of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992, being responsible for the majority of the crimes committed in the country. According to journalist C. Ramos, more violent deaths occurred in the 1990s than during the entirety of the twelve-year civil war. In 2004, there were an estimated 10,000 to 39,000 gang members in El Salvador; by 2012, the estimate was over 60,000. The country's two largest gangs are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gang (Barrio 18), and most of its members arrived in the country after being deported from the United States. For most of its history, the country has faced high homicide rates in comparison to its neighboring countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, the rate was 30 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants; from 1994 to 1997, the rate was 80 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Other crimes committed by the gangs included making threats, robbery, motor-vehicle theft, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, extortion, rape, and kidnapping. According to Salvadoran President Antonio Saca of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), over 50 percent of homicides in the country were committed by gang members, and the National Civil Police (PNC) estimated that the gangs committed over 60 percent of all crimes. According to polling conducted by the Central American University (UCA) during the 2000s, 20.8 percent of Salvadorans believed that gangs were the main issue facing the country, 55 percent would support killing a criminal who terrorizes a community, and 40.5 would approve the lynching of a criminal. La Mano Dura In July 2003, Salvadoran President Francisco Flores Pérez of ARENA announced the implementation of La Mano Dura (Spanish for "The Iron Fist") security policy to combat the gangs and lower the