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The statue of Liberty in the garden of the mayor of Itipuca. ..85% of the population of Itupuca has migrated to the US. The town features quite a high number of fancy houses constructed by families living in the US, many of them remain empty. When the financial crisis hit the town remesas (money that family send from the US back home) decreased by 40%...El Salvador is often mentioned as the most Americanized country in the Americas. In fact, one third of its population lives in the USA. El Salvador has also the highest number of murders per capita in the world. Violence stems from the brutal civil war and the gangs, whiche were started in the US. In fact, when peace accords were signed in 1992 the US deported many Salvadorians back to El Salvador: this was the start of the gangs 'Mara Salvatrucha' and '18'. Salvador's economy is heavily dependant on remesas: money that Salvadorians in the US send to their families in El Salvador. (KEYSTONE/NOOR/Kadir van Lohuizen / NOOR)