Political violence is a subject that is not unknown to the ears of our generation, being the common factor in an endless struggle for individuals and power-hungry groups. throughout history. Empires, spanning countless miles of land, did not achieve considerable power without violence and politics playing their part. Regardless of its size, El Salvador is no exception. Political violence has transformed this country, not only economically and culturally, but also emotionally. Peaceful Salvadorans, including their children, took up arms and joined communist guerrilla groups or death squads. But why would Salvadorans, who have no history of violence, join a death squad or become members of an anti-government communist guerrilla group? In this article I will discuss the country's economic, social and environmental problems, death squads/terrorism, why they exist in El Salvador, children joining death squads, US involvement and the transition process in El Salvador. I believe that each of these points has played an important role in the current history of El Salvador. To fully understand this thesis question, some information about El Salvador is necessary. El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Central America, as well as the smallest, with an area of ​​21,040 km². A long history of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as social struggles, have radically transformed the country. Three-quarters of the population is now settled in the area west of Lake Ilopango and south of Santa Ana, presenting a very rugged topography composed of volcanoes. This area also experiences high rates of subduction zone and upper crustal earthquakes, as we...... middle of paper ......ador. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1996. Rose, William I., Julian J. Bommer, Dina L. Lopez, Michael J. Carr, and Jon J. Major. “Natural Hazards and Risk Mitigation in El Salvador.” In Natural Hazards in El Salvador, Boulder, CO. The Geological Society of America, Inc., 2001. Taylor, Robert W. and Harry E. Vanden. Defining terrorism in El Salvador: “La Matanza”. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 463: 107-112. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1043615 (accessed May 2, 2014). Thompson, Martha. “Transition in El Salvador: a multi-level process. » Development in Practice 7: 456-460. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4029015 (accessed May 4, 2014). Valis, Christmas. Fear and torment in El Salvador. The Massachusetts Review 48: 117-131. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25091175 (accessed May 2, 2014).