HomeNewsBriefEl Salvador Gangs Using Truce to Strengthen Drug Ties: Official
BRIEF

El Salvador Gangs Using Truce to Strengthen Drug Ties: Official

BARRIO 18 / 19 JUL 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

El Salvador's new security minister has claimed the truce has allowed the Barrio 18 and MS-13 street gangs to strengthen ties with transnational drug traffickers, showing a significant rhetorical shift from his predecessor.

Security Minister Ricardo Perdomo told La Prensa Grafica that over the course of the truce "there are groups that have increased their drug trafficking activities." Perdomo said that though there was evidence of gangs moving drugs to Guatemala prior to the truce, it had now become a "national security concern."

He also attributed a recent spike in homicides to attempted territorial expansion by one faction of the Barrio 18, called the "Revolutionaries," which he said had become involved in drug trafficking and had led attacks on members of the MS-13.

When asked about his apparent change in stance regarding the gang truce compared to former Security Minister David Munguia Payes, whose term was suspended by the Salvadoran Supreme Court because of his military resume, Perdomo said it was down to new instructions from the president to "conform to reality." 

InSight Crime Analysis

InSight Crime investigations have revealed that fears about these deepening ties between the gangs and more sophisticated criminal organizations are largely unfounded.

SEE ALSO: MS-13's 'El Barney': A Trend or an Isolated Case?

What's more, Perdomo's comments must be seen in light of his possible political agenda to keep his reputation clean as he positions himself for a job during the next administration. Though Perdomo was originally thought to be a supporter of the truce alongside Munguia (one of the principal truce negotiators), the new security minister has begun to publicly criticize the truce since taking office in May, saying recently that it has not created peace for most Salvadorans. Presidential elections are in March 2014.

Still, Perdomo's comments are similar to a March report by International Assessment and Strategy Center fellow Douglas Farah, which said the MS-13's relationship with local transport groups was expanding. Munguia at the time dismissed Farah's views, though various questions have emerged over other aspects of truce sustainability.

A dramatic drop in murders in the first seven months of the truce was followed by a spike in violence between October and April, though a statistical analysis by Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow Juan Carlos Garzon for InSight Crime shows a reduction of homicides has actually been sustained.

SEE ALSO: El Salvador Gang Truce Positives and Negatives

US actions have added fuel to the critics. In October 2012, seven months after the implementation of the truce, the US placed the MS-13 on a list of transnational drug trafficking organizations, alongside powerful groups like Mexico's Zetas. Later it put economic sanctions on six MS-13 leaders.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 25 NOV 2022

Failing prison systems and entrenched corruption mean mega-prisons holding tens of thousands won't solve insecurity in Latin America.

BOLIVIA / 8 MAR 2023

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

BELIZE / 2 JUN 2022

Since El Salvador's government began a campaign of mass arrests two months ago in a gang crackdown, fewer than 60…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…