Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 10 december 2016
Program seeks to use seized guns for good in El Salvador

DAVID BARRAZA Nations Office on Drugs region’s civil wars. And still vador and Guatemala. The pending on what the buyer
Associated Press and Crime found that 77 others are smuggled from last weapon destruction in needs, according to the or-
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador percent of the murders the United States. El Salvador destroyed 1,825 ganization.
(AP) — In one of the world’s in Central America were According to the U.S. Bu- guns. The organization What it does do is certify
most deadly countries, a that the metal comes from
Swedish development or- recycled guns, sells the in-
ganization is trying to turn gots to socially conscious
a source of death into a companies then uses the
resource that combats revenue to fund violence
gun violence. The Huma- prevention programs and
nium Metal Initiative was help victims of gun vio-
launched in El Salvador in lence in the country where
November. It aims to take the metal originated. It is
guns off the streets and basically trying to create a
have the metal recycled market for the gun metal.
and sold, with the revenue “We hope that the Humani-
being funneled back into um Metal Initiative will also
anti-violence programs, be an incentive for world
according to IM Swedish leaders to promote weap-
Development Partner, the ons destructions program,
group behind the initiative. as part of the commitments
“Humanium” is the name made under the Sustain-
it gives to the metal pro- able Development Goals/
duced from recycled guns. agenda 2030,” IM senior
Hans Blix, the former head adviser Peter Brune said in
of the International Atomic an email.
Energy Agency and a sup- The organization says it is
porter of the gun initiative, A worker carries weapons to a cauldron to be melted down as part of the Humanium Metal Initia- currently negotiating with
said that when you see an tive, in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. The Swedish group doesn’t collect the guns itself or melt them several global brands. The
ingot of the recycled gun down. The guns are either seized or collected from gun holders by local authorities, who then melt metal could be used for
metal you understand how them down into ingots, wire or pellets, depending on what the buyer needs, according to the items ranging from jewelry
it can be used for different Swedish development organization. to smartphone cases. The
purposes. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) metal will not initially be
“You can make a pistol or available on the open mar-
a revolver of it and it’s le- committed with a firearm. reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, plans to scale up its work ket, but rather to specific
thal,” Blix said. But the same Last year in El Salvador, 83 Firearms and Explosives, as demand grows for the commercial partners.
metal also “can be used for percent of the 6,071 mur- in 2015, 48 percent of the metal. “These are the weapons
very good purposes.” ders were committed with 4,068 seized weapons Sal- The Swedish group doesn’t from which people get
In 2015, gang violence a firearm, according to the vadoran authorities sent collect the guns itself or killed every day,” Blix said.
pushed El Salvador’s homi- government. it for traces were found to melt them down. The guns “”In the Bible, they say
cide rate to 103 killings for The weapons come from have originated in the U.S. are either seized or col- you can make swords into
every 100,000 residents. In various sources. Some are IM Swedish Development lected from gun holders ploughshares. So it’s a fa-
neighboring Honduras, it legally registered then filter Partner so far has several by local authorities, who mous, old, thousands-of-
was 64 per 100,000 in 2015. into the underworld. Oth- tons of the metal between then melt them down into years wisdom, and that is
A 2012 report by the United ers are leftover from the existing stockpiles in El Sal- ingots, wire or pellets, de- what we should do.”

Head of Bolivian airline held in jail as part of crash probe

CARLOS VALDEZ plane, including members controlling Bolivia’s air traf- sions to fix the flight plan. because her rights to a fair
Associated Press of a Brazilian soccer team fic. She was thrust into the She said that the day after defense couldn’t be guar-
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A heading to Colombia for spotlight of the five-nation the crash, superiors who anteed. Authorities have
Bolivian judge this week the finals of a South Ameri- crash investigation after a she did not identify “ha- cast doubt on Castedo’s
ordered that the head of can championship. “The copy of the flight plan with rassed and pressured” her version of events.
the ill-fated chartered air- prosecutors are liars,” said her signature emerged to modify the report, which “There were no observa-
line whose plane crashed a defiant Vargas, who de- showing the British-built has been circulating for tions made to the flight
in the Andes last week be nied any wrongdoing. “The short-range jetliner was al- days in Bolivia media but plan,” Public Works Minister
detained while authorities prosecutors can’t blame lowed to depart Santa whose authenticity has yet Milton Claros said, accus-
investigate him for possible me. They know there are Cruz, Bolivia, with barely to be verified. She said her ing Castedo of fabricating
charges of manslaughter two owners.” The judge’s enough fuel to complete signature and stamp on the document after the
and other crimes. ruling to keep Vargas the more than four-hour the flight plan was a mere crash to cover up her own
Gustavo Vargas, a retired locked up came as a Bolivi- flight to Medellin, a flagrant formality acknowledging missteps and negligence.
air force general who is an aviation official who fled violation of international air receipt, saying another Aviation experts have also
CEO of the LaMia airline, to Brazil after authorities be- norms. In a letter to Bolivian government office, Boliv- criticized Castedo’s ac-
complained at the court gan investigating why she media made public Thurs- ia’s civil aviation agency, tions, saying she could
hearing that he is being signed off on the aircraft’s day, Castedo said that far is exclusively responsible have stopped the flight if
unfairly blamed for the flawed flight plan accused from authorizing the flight, for authorizing international she had wanted to.
Nov. 28 crash near Medel- her bosses of trying to stage she tried to stop it. She chartered flights. “No pilot can impose their
lin, Colombia. Authorities a cover-up. Until the crash, claimed to have authored Castedo, who Bolivian offi- will,” said Jorge Valle, an
have said it was a prevent- Celia Castedo was an un- an internal report in which cials have said was imme- aviation lawyer in Bolivia
able tragedy that took the known veteran employee she recounted how she diately suspended and put who until 2007 served as
lives of all but six of the 77 at the regional office of sternly asked the airline’s under investigation, said president of the agency
people on board the LaMia the agency responsible for dispatcher on three occa- she sought asylum in Brazil where Castedo worked.