El Salvador, US agree to bring back Peace Corps after hiatus

El Salvador's Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco and Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn pose for a picture after the signing of an agreement to reopen Peace Corps programs in El Salvador, in San Salvador, El Salvador September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The governments of El Salvador and the United States will revive the Peace Corps program in the Central American country, after the U.S. agency concluded that security conditions have improved following a seven-year freeze blamed on deadly gang violence.

The Peace Corps, a popular U.S. volunteer abroad program dating back to the 1960s, suspended Salvadoran operations in 2016 over surging lawlessness in the country.