What are the most powerful gangs in El Salvador?

There are an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador; another 9,000 are in prison. The best-known gangs, called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and their rivals 18th Street; maras are hunted by death squads, including Sombra Negra.

How common is murder in El Salvador?

Although the homicide rate has consistently and notably declined since 2015’s high of 104 per 100,000 inhabitants, El Salvador continues to have one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Females accounted for 9% of all homicide victims in 2019, down from 11% in 2018. Homicides are not uniform across the country.

What are the biggest problems in El Salvador?

There are a number of risk factors contributing to high levels of youth violence and crime in El Salvador, including high rates of poverty, inequality, under- and unemployment and school drop-outs, dysfunctional family structures, easy access to arms, alcohol and illegal drugs, chaotic urbanization, and finally local …

Why does El Salvador have a high homicide rate?

El Salvador murder rate plummets; study says gangs may have informal pact with government. Bukele has attributed the improvement to an increased police and military presence on the streets, and tighter security in jails controlled by the powerful Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs.

Who are the main gangs in El Salvador?

Countless women were brutally raped and murdered, as they often are in wartime scenarios. To escape the violence, entire families fled to America. It was here, in the early 1980s, where El Salvador’s two main gangs were formed: the Mara Salvatrucha (or MS-13) and Barrio 18.

What is the murder rate in El Salvador?

El Salvador’s homicide rate reached over 100 murders per 100,000 residents in 2015 —giving it the world’s highest rate that year.

What kind of violence does El Salvador have?

Children who live in a low-income neighborhood controlled by MS-13 pass by a police patrol in San Martín, San Salvador, on Nov. 5, 2018. Tariq Zaidi for Foreign Policy El Salvador is characterized not only by widespread violence but also by the brutality with which the violence is carried out.

How many gang members are in LA 18?

La 18, in contrast, was formed as the first multiracial, multiethnic gang in the city, and is now a mostly Central American gang, with between 30,000 and 50,000 members in the US.