Gang

With gang and organized crime violence common in parts of Central America, more and more people trying to enter the US say they are fleeing out of fear. Last year, 36,000 people gave fear as the reason — more than double the prior year — and those from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala helped lead that rise.With gang and organized crime violence common in parts of Central America, more and more people trying to enter the US say they are fleeing out of fear. Last year, 36,000 people gave fear as the reason — more than double the prior year — and those from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala helped lead that rise.

Marseille was Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2013, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from the European Union to boost the arts. Officials there say visits to museums doubled over the course of the year, though it seems many French are still afraid to go there.

Colombia was wracked with violence during the era of the Escobar drug cartel. And while the cartel has been curtailed, regular street violence persists. Now, arts groups are trying to give youth an alternative path to the future.

Ronald Aldana had a choice. Stay in Guatemala and be hunted down by gangs, or flee to the United States and try to make a new life. He chose to come to the United States. He applied for asylum, received it and has started a new life.

For years, immigration law has sent undocumented immigrants who marry U.S. citizens back to their home countries to obtain visas. Charlie Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador did just that. Tragically, he was killed there, waiting for his paperwork to come through.