Home ᐳ Countries ᐳ El Salvador organized crime news

El Salvador

El Salvador is a relatively small but growing player in the drug trafficking business. It serves as a drug receiving and storage point along the Pacific Coast, and a bridge via the Pan-American Highway, the Fonseca Gulf and roads from Honduras that cut through relatively unpopulated areas

Latest News

See all

Honduras Makes Few Advances Against Crime During 6-Month State of Exception

NEWS / 5 JUN 2023

After six months, the state of exception in Honduras has failed to significantly reduce gang violence and extortion.

‘Mula’: The Bridge Between MS13 and Mexican Mafia in Tijuana, Mexico

NEWS / 23 MAR 2023

Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, alias "Mula", was the liaison between the Mexican Mafia and the MS13 in Tijuana, Mexico.

InSight Crime’s Cocaine Seizure Round-Up 2022

NEWS / 8 MAR 2023

InSight Crime reviews Latin America and the Caribbean's cocaine seizure date from 2022 to find out what it reveals about regional trafficking.

See all

El Salvador Profile

El Salvador is a relatively small but growing player in the drug trafficking business. It serves as a drug receiving and storage point along the Pacific Coast, and a bridge via the Pan-American Highway, the Fonseca Gulf and roads from Honduras that cut through relatively unpopulated areas. Gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 commonly engage in extortion, kidnapping and domestic drug distribution. Accompanying and exacerbating the country's general insecurity is a weak judicial system that promotes impunity.

EL SALVADOR PROFILE

Criminal Actors

See all

Perrones Cartel

Barrio 18

Texis Cartel

MS13

Texis Cartel

Perrones

Barrio 18

MS13

Armed Groups

Crime and violence in El Salvador are fueled by street gangs – particularly the infamous Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and to a lesser extent two factions of the Barrio 18. The gangs control territory through cliques, engaging in low-level crimes like extortion, kidnapping and drug sales. Drug trafficking groups – the Perrones and the Texis Cartel – also have operations in the country. But these groups have been on the decline after the arrests of key figures, leaving a door open for the country’s dominant gang – the MS13 – to enter the trafficking market.

icon
icon
See all

Personalities

José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias 'Chepe Diablo'

CHEPE DIABLO / MAY 26, 2021

José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias "Chepe Diablo," does not fit the normal profile of a criminal leader. As the former president of the first division of Salvadoran soccer and the…

Moris Alexander Bercián Manchón, alias 'El Barney'

EL SALVADOR / MARCH 9, 2020

Moris Alexander Bercián Manchón, alias "El Barney," is one of six MS13 members in El Salvador sanctioned by the United States for participation in illicit transnational actvities including drug trafficking.

Reynerio Flores Lazo

EL SALVADOR PERSONALITIES / 2017-03-09 22:27:26

While Reynerio Flores is serving an 80-year jail term, he remains one of the most notorious and important leaders of Perrones, one of the most significant cocaine smuggling gangs in…

José Natividad Luna Pereira, alias ‘Chepe Luna’

CHEPE LUNA / 2020-03-10 22:29:20

Once the most powerful boss of the Perrones "transportista" syndicate, Jose Natividad Luna Pereira, alias "Chepe Luna," was murdered in Honduras in June 2014. Before his death, Luna built a…

José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias 'Chepe Diablo'

Moris Alexander Bercián Manchón, alias 'El Barney'

Reynerio Flores Lazo

José Natividad Luna Pereira, alias ‘Chepe Luna’

Investigations

INVESTIGATIONS

Gangsters and Preachers - The Culture of Sexism Inside the MS13

EL SALVADOR / 15 JUN 2022
INVESTIGATIONS

Tri-Border Areas: Crime and Corruption

ARGENTINA / 29 JAN 2021
INVESTIGATIONS

Gangs, Vendors and Political Capital in Downtown San Salvador

EL SALVADOR / 1 OCT 2020
INVESTIGATIONS

Women and Organized Crime in Latin America: Beyond Victims and Victimizers

COLOMBIA / 13 APR 2020
INVESTIGATIONS

State and Community Responses to Extortion

EL SALVADOR / 30 APR 2019

Chapters

The Gospel of Man, in Church and Gang

The MS13 Will Never Be a Gang for Women

A Mayor and a Wave of Narco Violence on Guatemala's Pacific

One Party, Many Crimes: The Case of Honduras’ National Party

Drug Trafficking and Political Protection in Paraguay: The Case of ‘Cucho’ Cabaña

Chasing Brazil’s Premier Money Launderer

SEE ALLicon

How El Salvador President Bukele Deals with Gangs

From Predators to Partners: How Gangs are Taking San Salvador

The ‘Protection Racket,’ Gangs and Violence in San Salvador

Introduction to Gender and Organized Crime

Roles of Women in Organized Crime

Female Criminal Leadership and Differing Use of Violence

Conclusions and Recommendations

SEE ALLicon

Municipalities Fight Back in Guatemala’s Gang-Preyed Upon Neighborhoods

How the Private Sector Helped Counter Rural Extortion in El Salvador

Honduras Private Sector and Anti-Extortion Police: An Unholy Alliance?

In El Salvador, a Thin Line Between Community Policing and Vigilantism

SEE ALLicon

News

Wildlife Protection Treaty Hits 50 Amid Challenges

BOLIVIA / 3 MAR 2023

As the CITES treaty hits 50, we take a look at its successes, failures, and future challenges in reducing the illicit trade of wildlife.

MS13’s Mexico Program Key to El Salvador Gang Negotiations

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 1 MAR 2023

US authorities have made several arrests that could strike a big blow to the MS13’s Mexico Program.

Is Nayib Bukele's 'Iron Fist' in El Salvador Working?

BARRIO 18 / 9 FEB 2023

In El Salvador, crackdowns have led to rapid improvements in security. But there is real doubt about whether gangs are gone for good or what Bukele’s real motives may have…

InSight Crime's 2022 Homicide Round-Up

ARGENTINA / 8 FEB 2023

InSight Crime's 2022 Homicide Round-Up covers more countries than ever before, with a major expansion into nations of the Caribbean.

Southern Mexico Extortion Suggests Migration of Central American Gangs 

BARRIO 18 / 30 JAN 2023

While thousands of gang members have been arrested in El Salvador, some may have moved their activities to Mexico.

Death, Taxes, and Extortion: Why Latin American Companies Keep Paying Up

EL SALVADOR / 10 JAN 2023

Extortion in Latin America continues to bring in fortunes for criminal gangs. So how do they do it?…

SEE ALL

Frequently Used Tags

Other Countries

SEE ALL
icon #SupportFreePress
image

Support Our Work

Investigating organized crime is an expensive and often risky enterprise. Reaching primary sources and getting the real story involve extensive fieldwork. Please donate. Every dollar supports our mission.

DONATE NOW image