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        {"code":"26663","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"1549","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202301\/el_salvador\/26663","link_edit":"","name":"Gang Divisions Provoked 2021 Massacre and Almost Toppled Negotiations with Bukele","slug":"gang-divisions-provoked-2021-massacre-and-almost-toppled-negotiations-with-bukele","info":"When a spike in homicides in November 2021 put Nayib Bukele\u2019s negotiations with El Salvador\u2019s gangs in crisis, officials mediated with the criminal organizations to curb the violence. While police documents ascribed the death of 45 people to differences between MS-13 and 18th Street, a source from the Mara Salvatrucha asserted that they were caused by a rift inside the gang over how the negotiations were conducted.","mtag":"Gangs","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E, \u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/cmartinez'\u003E Carlos Mart\u00ednez\u003C\/span\u003E y  Carlos Garc\u00eda","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"},"carlos-martinez":{"sort":"cmartinez","slug":"carlos-martinez","path":"carlos_martinez","name":"Carlos Mart\u00ednez","edge":"0","init":"1"},"carlos-garcia":{"sort":"","slug":"carlos-garcia","path":"carlos_garcia","name":"Carlos Garc\u00eda","edge":"1","init":"0"}}},"view":"1549","pict":{"cms-image-000038510-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38510","name":"cms-image-000038510.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038510.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038510.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038510-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Carlos Mojica Lechuga, \u201cViejo Lyn\u201d, and\u00a0Edson Zachary Eufemia, representatives of 18th Street and MS-13, respectively, shake hands in September 2012 in an event during the Truce. Photo: Jos\u00e9 Cabezas\/AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ECarlos Mojica Lechuga, \u201cViejo Lyn\u201d, and\u00a0Edson Zachary Eufemia, representatives of 18th Street and MS-13, respectively, shake hands in September 2012 in an event during the Truce. Photo: Jos\u00e9 Cabezas\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038511-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38511","name":"cms-image-000038511.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038511.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038511.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038511-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;A police officer from the Tactical Operations Section stands guard at the scene where a suspect was captured for a homicide in La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango in November 2021. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EA police officer from the Tactical Operations Section stands guard at the scene where a suspect was captured for a homicide in La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango in November 2021. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038512-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38512","name":"cms-image-000038512.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038512.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038512.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038512-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;On November 12, 2021, the Salvadoran Armed Forces deployed to the Historic Center of San Salvador on the heels of the massacre of 45 people in three days. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EOn November 12, 2021, the Salvadoran Armed Forces deployed to the Historic Center of San Salvador on the heels of the massacre of 45 people in three days. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038513-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38513","name":"cms-image-000038513.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038513.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038513.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038513-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;On November 11, 2021, a man was captured in the colonia La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango, suspected of committing a murder on bus route 306. The arrest was made during a three-day massacre of 45 people. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EOn November 11, 2021, a man was captured in the colonia La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango, suspected of committing a murder on bus route 306. The arrest was made during a three-day massacre of 45 people. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38510,"date":{"live":"2023\/01\/05"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"01","data_post_dateLive_DD":"05","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202301\/el_salvador\/26656\/Gobierno-utiliz%C3%B3-a-l%C3%ADderes-pandilleros-para-detener-la-masacre-de-noviembre-de-2021.htm\"\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn November 2021, the gangs of El Salvador murdered 45 people in just three days to send a message to President Nayib Bukele, with whose administration they had been negotiating secretly since at least June of 2019. The massacre spanning from November 9, 10, and 11 cast widespread public doubt on the government\u2019s so-called Territorial Control Plan and pushed the pact of non-aggression between the country\u2019s three gangs and the administration, which achieved a reduction in homicides in return for political favors, to the verge of collapsing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENew evidence obtained by El Faro reveals that the Prison Bureau violated its own protocols and the law to rescue the negotiations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBetween the second and third day of the killings, the administration allowed the national leaders of the 18th Street Sure\u00f1os gang incarcerated in the maximum-security Zacatecoluca Prison to send a voice message to their subordinates in the street demanding a stop to the chain of violence and retribution between their organization and the Mara Salvatrucha-13.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the seven-minute audio recording obtained by El Faro, four historic leaders of the criminal structure identify themselves by their gang aliases and speak into the recorder one by one from the same room \u2014 a violation of prison protocols barring gang leaders from being in the same room in maximum-security facilities. Sources of El Faro who worked in Zacatecoluca Prison during the current administration assert that the four gang members are housed separately, meaning that the prison authorities allowed them to meet in the same room and gave access to a telephone or voice recorder. One of the leaders of the Sure\u00f1os told his subordinates in the streets: \u201cA ton of people are dying; this can\u2019t continue.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHours before the recording was sent, Prison Bureau Director Osiris Luna, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202108\/el_salvador\/25670\/Criminal-Investigation-Found-the-Bukele-Administration-Hid-Evidence-of-Negotiations-with-Gangs.htm\"\u003Eprotagonist and concealer of the illicit negotiations\u003C\/a\u003E between the government and the gangs, entered the facility \u201cfor a meeting,\u201d according to prison intelligence reports. Any dialogue with the gangs is prohibited by Salvadoran law; they were ruled terrorist organizations in 2015 by the Supreme Court.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELess than 48 hours after Luna\u2019s visit to Zacatecoluca, the homicide levels abruptly decreased again, postponing the collapse of the gang negotiations four more months until a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26177\/Collapsed-Government-Talks-with-MS-13-Sparked-Record-Homicides-in-El-Salvador-Audios-Reveal.htm\"\u003Esecond massacre of 87 Salvadorans in March of 2022\u003C\/a\u003E. In response to the latter, the government and Legislative Assembly decreed a state of exception that has now been in place for nine months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38511 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"A police officer from the Tactical Operations Section stands guard at the scene where a suspect was captured for a homicide in La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango in November 2021. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E A police officer from the Tactical Operations Section stands guard at the scene where a suspect was captured for a homicide in La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango in November 2021. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEl Faro obtained the police reports through Guacamaya Leaks, a mass leak of emails and documents from the Salvadoran police and military and other countries, confirming with new documents the existence that the reduction of homicides was sustained through an agreement between the current government and the gangs, as El Faro has demonstrated in \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202009\/el_salvador\/24785\/Bukele-Spent-A-Year-Negotiating-with-MS-13-for-a-Reduction-in-Homicides-and-Electoral-Support.htm\"\u003Emultiple investigations since 2020\u003C\/a\u003E. The pact also depended on conversations between imprisoned gang leaders and members in the streets, in which the latter suspected their superiors of negotiating agreements that solely benefitted those in prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrisis for Bukele\u2019s Plan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBefore the massacre of November 2021, the decline in homicides had been extraordinary. From January to May of that year, there was an average of 3.5 daily murders. From June to October, the number dipped lower to 2.4, according to the Subdirectorate of Police Intelligence (SIPOL). The lowest point during 2021 was August, when El Salvador saw an average of 1.7 murders per day, the lowest since the end of the civil war in 1992.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe president ascribed the historic figures to his state-secret Territorial Control Plan, but multiple SIPOL reports obtained by El Faro explain that the dip had been caused by agreements between the gangs. SIPOL asserted that the gangs had agreed that they would \u201cnot activate themselves against the government, nor increase the homicides,\u201d as well as rein in confrontations between them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe crisis began on Tuesday, November 9, 2021. The day began with gang members entering and exiting Zacatecoluca Prison under the justification of attending doctors\u2019 appointments, a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202210\/el_salvador\/26419\/During-March-Massacre-El-Salvador-Government-Took-Four-MS-13-Leaders-Out-of-Prison.htm\"\u003Ewidespread tactic employed in the government-gang negotiations\u003C\/a\u003E. At 5 a.m., a government vehicle entered the prison grounds to pick up MS-13 member Ra\u00fal Armando Bonilla Lazo, alias \u201cSlow\u201d of the Criminal Gangsters Locos clique, \u201cfor a medical appointment.\u201d Bonilla is a former at-large \u003Cem\u003Eranflero\u003C\/em\u003E, the second-highest echelon of the gang that reports to its leaders in prison, as well as \u003Cem\u003Ecorredor\u003C\/em\u003E, or top member, of its Ilopango program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EA \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1n7PRYocJXUMrOHjgYJoamje8K8zZGjTJ\/view\"\u003Eprison intelligence report from that day\u003C\/a\u003E noted that the authorities took him 39 miles to Salda\u00f1a National Hospital, outside of the capital. (The town of Zacatecoluca has a hospital of its own.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEl Faro reviewed every prison intelligence report filed that November by the police subdelegation of Zacatecoluca and found that Bonilla was the thirteenth gang member to visit the hospital that month. Per internal police reports, the massacre began 80 minutes after he left prison, at 6:20 a.m, when a young man was gunned down in El Carmen, Cuscatl\u00e1n.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt 2 p.m., after three people had been murdered, a second MS-13 member left Zacatecoluca for a trip to the doctor: Henry Alex\u00e1nder Arias Parada, a ranflero from the San S\u00edvar Locos Salvatruchos known by the alias \u201cGato\u201d and who, like Bonilla, is also from the Ilopango program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBy the end of the day, the Police had recorded 12 executions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Armed Forces were also alarmed. In a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1dw6xs1jDi1mf0FuS14H0JebC6Uodh-T9\/view\"\u003Econfidential memo sent on November 9\u003C\/a\u003E and obtained by El Faro, the chief of the Joint General Staff ordered military leaders to \u201cbe alert for a spike in homicides in the past twenty-four (24) hours, in order to direct the personnel under your command to increment security measures during patrols in the zones under your responsibility.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38512 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"On November 12, 2021, the Salvadoran Armed Forces deployed to the Historic Center of San Salvador on the heels of the massacre of 45 people in three days. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E On November 12, 2021, the Salvadoran Armed Forces deployed to the Historic Center of San Salvador on the heels of the massacre of 45 people in three days. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe next day, the situation worsened. In the early hours of the morning, the Division of Analysis and Production of Intelligence (DAPI) of the Police anticipated that the violence would intensify. At 2:01 a.m., DAPI emailed the police intelligence offices on a \u201cpossible increase in homicides committed by MS-13 at the national level.\u201d In an attached classified document, DAPI wrote: \u201cMembers of the MS13 gang are planning to increase homicides against members of the P18R [18th Street Revolucionarios gang] and P18S [18th Street Sure\u00f1os] at the national level.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBy noon, two MS-13 members had left Zacatecoluca for Rosales Hospital in San Salvador.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the afternoon, an ex-member of the Mara Salvatrucha, who at the time of the call was in contact with leaders of the gang, called El Faro from the United States to reveal that members of MS-13 had carried out the homicides as a sign of their disapproval of the negotiations with the government. At the time El Faro did not have the audio recording from the Sure\u00f1os nor the documents from Guacamaya Leaks to corroborate his testimony.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe source, referenced in this investigation as \u201cMochila\u201d to protect his identity, asserted that at least three programs of the gang \u2014Normandie Locos, Western Locos, and Fulton Locos\u2014 went rogue because, as part of the agreement with the government, the gang leaders were turning their own members over to the authorities in compensation for every dead police officer or soldier, as well as for every violent scandal perpetrated by the gangs. \u201cSome of the cliques aren\u2019t happy at all. Turning over and killing their friends isn\u2019t the cause of the \u003Cem\u003Ebarrio\u003C\/em\u003E,\u201d Mochila told El Faro, adding, \u201cThose in prison are the only ones benefiting, not those in the street.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMochila added that the spike in murders in November 2021 was a double message to the government as well as the jailed gang leaders: that the rank-and-file in the streets could destabilize any truce. They wanted to tell President Bukele \u201cthat he isn\u2019t controlling anything, and to show him that the Ranfla (leaders in the street) aren\u2019t happy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cIs 18th Street involved in this [violence]?\u201d El Faro asked Mochila.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s right, the one that Viejo Lyn runs,\u201d he responded, referring to Carlos Mojica Lechuga, the head of the 18th Street Sure\u00f1os. \u201cThey all-out attacked, too.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMochila asserted that the victims were part of a list of \u201cpending\u201d victims that included members of that same gang, MS-13, as well as both factions of 18th Street and non-members who refused to pay extortion. \u201cIt was a list that they [the leaders in the streets] had,\u201d he said. \u201cThe deaths started in September or August, but on these days they committed the most.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMultiple DAPI reports in 2021 stated that the gangs could be generating lists for future violence. The monthly report from August states: \u201cWe do not rule out that the gangs could for now only be updating lists of their future victims.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt 5:20 in the afternoon on November 10, nine homicides had been committed during the second day of the massacre. At that hour a group of \u201cthree unidentified people in police uniforms\u201d entered Zacatecoluca Prison \u201cfor a meeting,\u201d according to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1sgWK2_I_iV0VYp86kh_7B64QkBWJovZC\/view\"\u003Eprison intelligence log obtained by El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E. Exactly one hour later, Prison Bureau Director Luna arrived \u201con board P-854923 and another white pickup, for a meeting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat night, President Bukele ordered a nationwide deployment over Twitter to send the Army and Police on patrols in the areas of the homicides. 22 homicides were recorded on November 10, the most lethal day in 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt 9:20 the following morning, Zacatecoluca Prison received some unusual visitors. Two employees of the tech company Flowing Rivers entered \u201cwith the goal of working on the jammers,\u201d according to the prison reports obtained by El Faro.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat same morning, leaders of the 18th Street Sure\u00f1os in the facility delivered a voice note to their members in the streets, despite the fact that in September 2020, the President\u2019s Office asserted that the Prison Bureau and telecoms superintendent had installed signal jammers in Zacatecoluca, rendering the incarcerated \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.presidencia.gob.sv\/bloqueo-permanente-de-senal-telefonica-en-carceles-sigue-reduciendo-homicidios-y-delitos-en-el-salvador\/\"\u003Etotally incommunicado with the outside world\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn January 2 and 3, El Faro contacted the government entities and Flowing Rivers, but none offered their version of events. The Prison Bureau press officer answered a phone call, but after the line disconnected he did not return a written message over WhatsApp. The private contractor answered an introductory email but did not respond to a query on the jammers in Zacatecoluca. The National Civil Police did not return an email seeking comment, and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense read but did not answer a message over WhatsApp.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMessage from Viejo Lyn\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the morning on November 11, leaders of the 18th Street Sure\u00f1os outside of prison received the message from Zacatecoluca. Four senior leaders had recorded a voice note for distribution: \u00d3scar Ren\u00e9 Moreira Palacios, alias \u201cPollo\u201d; Douglas Geovany Vel\u00e1squez Navas, \u201cPayaso\u201d; Rub\u00e9n Arnoldo Toledo Cea, \u201cHumilde\u201d; and Carlos Mojica Lechuga, \u201cViejo Lyn\u201d. The latter was the head of 18th Street prior to 2010. His style of rule, centralizing all power and resources in a narrow hierarchy, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cronicasperiodisticas.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/20\/el-barrio-roto\/\"\u003Ecaused the gang to split in two\u003C\/a\u003E. The rebels formed the Revolucionarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=1995&ImageId=38510 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Carlos Mojica Lechuga, \u201cViejo Lyn\u201d, and\u00a0Edson Zachary Eufemia, representatives of 18th Street and MS-13, respectively, shake hands in September 2012 in an event during the Truce. Photo: Jos\u00e9 Cabezas\/AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Carlos Mojica Lechuga, \u201cViejo Lyn\u201d, and\u00a0Edson Zachary Eufemia, representatives of 18th Street and MS-13, respectively, shake hands in September 2012 in an event during the Truce. Photo: Jos\u00e9 Cabezas\/AFP \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aedNefL_eHg\"\u003EIn the message, shared with El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E by a member of 18th Street, the first to speak was Pollo, addressing a member called \u201cNegra\u201d or \u201cSandunguera\u201d. \u201cWe\u2019ve received reports of what\u2019s happening in the street. Things are complicated, with the clashes between gangs,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we want is for you all to stop this. We\u2019re talking to you as the Sur.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPayaso spoke next, attributing the violence to \u201csituations where you all have risen up, because of turf disputes and vice versa\u2026 They\u2019ve come to explain the whole situation to us,\u201d he added, without specifying who did the explaining. \u201cLet all of the homies on all of the turf controlled by the Sur know to avoid all of that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe then passed the device to Viejo Lyn, who promised the intermediary that they would soon meet in person, but didn\u2019t say how. \u201cThe whole situation out there has caught fire. In reality, this can throw away all that we\u2019ve been trying to do,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see if it\u2019s possible for us to speak in person, Pollo and the rest of us. We ask you to contact every homie to go in front of every turf and have them understand the needs, the word from here in Zacate.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESomebody whispers to Viejo Lyn: \u201cThey need to ask for a voice note for us.\u201d The veteran gang leader then asks Negra: \u201cIf possible, send us an audio confirming that you\u2019ve received this\u2026 A ton of people are dying; this can\u2019t continue. If it continues, we\u2019ll all lose, both you and us.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe last to speak was Humilde, who repeated the promise of in-person dialogue. \u201cApparently, in a few days these people will return here. Hoping we will soon have direct contact, so that you all can see that what we\u2019re doing is something real and solid.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHumilde had been \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1dEluqkJLQ7-ljDHn93ZKqz98Z1fhfWN0\/view?usp=share_link\"\u003Etransferred from Zacatecoluca to Rosales Hospital\u003C\/a\u003E days earlier, on November 8 at 9:55 a.m. Eight Sure\u00f1os had been transferred on the preceding October 16 to Santa Teresa Hospital in Zacatecoluca, where they stayed for seven hours, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Vqq94ooKrI5uNeStzzy-ELAUnegPwhfF\/view?usp=share_link\"\u003Eaccording to that day\u2019s police logbook\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn the last day of the massacre, 11 people were murdered. The Police and Prison Bureau knew the motives of the killings, but Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro asserted in the evening on state television station Canal 10 that the homicides were the work of some \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/VlBynewLUWk?t=4413\"\u003Ede facto power\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d in the country, an allusion to the political opposition.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cSomething strange is going on. A dark power is behind this,\u201d he said. \u201cAll those who negotiated in the past, the politicians who played with the blood of the people, or any dark interest behind this, we will make them face justice.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe next day, November 12, the national homicide figures abruptly dropped again, remaining at an average of 2.4 per day for the rest of the year. The Communications Secretariat of the President\u2019s Office tweeted: \u201cFormer governments were used to negotiating with the blood of the population. They increased or decreased the figures of violence in the country at their convenience. We are frontally fighting these criminals. We will NOT return to the past.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38513 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"On November 11, 2021, a man was captured in the colonia La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango, suspected of committing a murder on bus route 306. The arrest was made during a three-day massacre of 45 people. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E On November 11, 2021, a man was captured in the colonia La Coru\u00f1a, Soyapango, suspected of committing a murder on bus route 306. The arrest was made during a three-day massacre of 45 people. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat same day, just 24 hours after the massacre, President Bukele \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nayibbukele\/status\/1459333304398794756?s=20&t=4QqVUbgHOMycX_U3V-hpDg\"\u003Edenied on Twitter\u003C\/a\u003E that his government was negotiating with the gangs. \u201cI\u2019ve seen comments that the decline in homicides is due to some kind of \u201ctruce.\u201d Ask the police officers and soldiers out in the streets, who lost their time off and haven\u2019t seen their families as they patrol our whole country at night,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPlease, have a little respect for those who risk their lives so that you all don\u2019t lose your own.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/10UPw_OciijWQIzAd5zXJP53pzIfTiwoW\/view\"\u003EIn its November report\u003C\/a\u003E, the police intelligence office SIPOL accused the Ranfla Hist\u00f3rica of MS-13 of ordering the violence, ignoring the government\u2019s public explanation and attributing the massacre to a rupture in a \u201ctruce between gangs.\u201d Of MS-13, the author of the report wrote: \u201cThe heads gave the green light to make hits [kills] for one week. The targets were enemy gangs and those cooperating with the government. The head of the Center program has issued orders to various corredores.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe office also warned of possible vengeance from the Sure\u00f1os: \u201cThe free heads of the gang [those not in prison] mention that the letters [MS-13] lashed out at 18th Street because their code was broken. They are planning to retaliate and are only awaiting permission from inside (the permission would come from Izalco Prison) to launch full force. If they receive permission, they will be active for six days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EA week later, on November 18, the doctors\u2019 visits from Zacatecoluca resumed. That day, two members of the Sure\u00f1os and two from MS-13 left for the Santa Teresa and Rosales Hospitals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the afternoon, two police officers traveled to Zacatecoluca Prison to notify \u00c9lmer Canales Rivera, alias \u201cCrook,\u201d a ranflero of the Mara Salvatrucha, of an outstanding warrant, but weren\u2019t allowed inside. \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202210\/el_salvador\/26446\/Police-Documents-Prove-Illegal-Release-of-MS-13-Leader-in-El-Salvador.htm\"\u003EThe Prison Bureau illegally released him\u003C\/a\u003E that day, as a bargaining chip in its negotiations. Mochila told El Faro that after his release Canales made multiple trips with anonymous guards to 18th Street territory in Zacatecoluca and Ciudad Barrios. A top government negotiator with the gangs, Carlos Marroqu\u00edn, later admitted to MS-13 that he \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26177\/Collapsed-Government-Talks-with-MS-13-Sparked-Record-Homicides-in-El-Salvador-Audios-Reveal.htm\"\u003Epersonally aided Canales in his escape to Guatemala\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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