Are the world’s most dangerous gangs running scared? Salvadoran crime lords who usually kill one person an hour call a ‘truce’ – wth government forces or rivals?
El Salvador this year became most violent peacetime country on earth
Now Salvadoran crime lords just called a ‘truce’ in the face of the increasingly violent government ‘war’ on gangsters
Rivalry between three gangs, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños, and MS 13, has driven up murder rate to around one person an hour in the last three months
Violence has intensified since President Cerén declared ‘war’ on gangs
Days ago, Cerén announced ‘extraordinary’ new measures start next week
Photo: Juan Carlos
This year, El Salvador usurped Honduras to become the most violent peacetime country in the world. The violence is borne out of the vicious gang rivalry (Barrio 18 members pictured)
El Salvador’s three biggest gangs have united to announce a nationwide ceasefire on all homicides and violence for 72 hours to persuade the president to stop his hard-line ‘war’ on the brutal network which kills one person every hour.
In a video provided to Daily Mail Online by local TV, one man from each of the notorious gangs – Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños, and MS 13 – announced the unprecedented move on Saturday.
It comes days after President Salvador Sánchez Cerén vowed to unleash ‘extraordinary’ new measures next week in his self-professed ‘war’ on gangs.
He has already ordered killings of gang members and armed takeovers of gang hot spots.
Addressing the president, the gang members claim they will personally ensure there are no killings, massacres, or attacks between now and Wednesday to demonstrate their control over the gang-related crime which has made El Salvador the most violent peacetime country in the world.
Twelve hours into the truce, there had been no homicide reports anywhere in the country. There are usually at least 12 killings by mid-morning.
President Cerén (pictured) vowed to unleash ‘extraordinary’ new measures next week in his self-professed ‘war’ on gangs. He has already ordered killings of gang members and armed takeovers of gang hot spots
‘You cannot get rid of gangs, we are part of our country’s community. We have the tools to destroy the political infrastructure of this country,’ says one man, whose face is covered by a bandanna and voice distorted.
‘We have ordered every member of our gang to cease homicides of all kind nationwide to show the general public, the government, and international powers in our country that there is no need to bring in measures which will simply destroy the constitution and all the laws that depend on it.’
This year, El Salvador usurped Honduras to become the most violent peacetime country in the world, with almost 3,000 deaths in the last three months alone.
Last year there were 100 deaths per 100,000 residents – the highest murder rate of any country in at least 20 years.
The violence is borne out of the vicious rivalry between Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños, and Mara Salvatrucha (also known as ‘MS 13’).
The US Peace Corps even withdrew all operations from the country in January amid security fears.
The killings have intensified since President Cerén declared ‘war’ on the ‘maras’ (youth gangs). His measures included classifying gangs as terrorist groups, capturing and killing suspected gang members, and sending the army into gang hot spots.
Earlier this month Cerén tabled a plan to call a nationwide state of emergency in the hubs of the gangs.
Last year there were 100 deaths per 100,000 residents in El Salvador – the highest murder rate of any country in at least 20 years
The three biggest gangs each had one representative in the video announcing a joint ceasefire.
Barrio 18 has split into two gangs: the Sureños and the Revolucionarios.
The third is MS 13, which used to be the biggest but is now outnumbered by the two Barrio factions.
His policies – and aggressive rhetoric – have drawn fierce criticism, with the paper of record El Faro blaming him for what they call ‘our own Vietnam War’.
Despite their gripes with each other, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños, and MS 13 last summer united in an unusual merger to unanimously wage war on the government.
Around the same time, Barrio 18 also declared a takeover of El Salvador’s transport system, to demonstrate the control they exercise over the country’s most basic and necessary amenities.
Now, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños, and MS 13 are trying a new approach to keep the government out of their operations.
The low-quality video is dark and blurry. The three men sat in front of the camera are covering their faces, and their voices have been distorted.
Each one makes a statement vowing to show how much control they have over the seemingly uncontrollable murder rate.
In fact, they claim it is the repressive government that ‘provokes’ them to murder and brutalize the people of El Salvador.
‘Even though in reality we are controlled by a repressive government which is provoking us to commit violence, we will show that we are capable of carrying this out,’ one says.
‘We ask our brothers to be patient if they feel provoked by the police or the army, to show that we are not the problem.’
The US Peace Corps even withdrew all operations from the country in January amid security fears
Another adds: ‘We want people to know that we’re not doing this for the police or the government. We’re not conspiring with any corrupt politicians. This is our gang’s own initiative to curb all kinds of violence.’
Government spokesman Eugenio Chicas hit back at the video, saying there will be no exceptions made for criminals, adding that the president will exercise ‘all necessary measures to fight and protect the population.’
Barrio 18 was founded in Los Angeles but its core operations are now based in El Salvador, with off-shoots dotted across the Western Hemisphere as far as Canada.
Barrio 18 has since split into two gangs: the Sureños and the Revolucionarios.
It is largely made up of young people.
According to government figures, 88 per cent of schools have Barrio 18 Revolucionarios, Barrio 18 Sureños or MS 13 gang members in their classrooms.
Full Transcript Of Ceasefire Announcement VideoEl Salvador’s three biggest gangs have united to announce a nationwide ceasefire on all homicides and violence for 72 hours. In exchange they tell the government to stop waging war on gangs. Below is the full transcript from their video.
Gang member 1: We the 18 Sureños speak to the general public of El Salvador to let you know that this Saturday the 26th of this month at one minute past midnight, we have ordered every member of our gang to cease homicides of all kind nationwide to show the general public, the government, and international powers in our country that there is no need to bring in measures that will simply destroy the constitution and all the laws that depend on it.We vow to the ministry of defense, the head of the armed forces, and the chief of police [to take responsibility] for all kinds of homicide, massacre or anything outside of the law in our country.
Barrio 18 was founded in Los Angeles but its core operations are now based in El Salvador, with off-shoots dotted across the Western Hemisphere as far as Canada. Barrio 18 has split into two gangs: the Sureños and the Revolucionarios
Leave a Reply