El Salvador's Durable Gang Truce

El Salvador holds a presidential election Feb. 2 in which gang violence and a truce between the country's two main criminal organizations, Mara Salvatrucha and Calle 18, has become a central campaign issue. The cease-fire, however, depends little on the government. It will last as long as both groups see more benefits to cooperation than to conflict, despite the Salvadoran opposition's heated political rhetoric claiming otherwise.