 In 2001, Ricardo Maduro was elected president on a platform that promised to stop rampant inflation afflicting the nation, and to put a stop to the brutal trademark violence of street gangs.At the time, the abuse of child-protection laws by gangs recruiting minors, and aggressive recruitment of members under threat of violence, lent broad popular support for Maduro's enlistment of the armed forces for a greater role in fighting crime during this time, as the police were seen as overwhelmed.A major political issue in Honduras since about 1990 has been the high level of violent crime associated with the "maras" (Spanish for gangs, predominantly of young people), and drug trafficking organizations involved in the transport of cocaine from South America to the United States.