HomeNewsBriefPolice Op Sheds Light on Ongoing Activities of El Salvador’s Perrones
BRIEF

Police Op Sheds Light on Ongoing Activities of El Salvador’s Perrones

BARRIO 18 / 31 JUL 2014 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

Police in El Salvador have dismantled a criminal network run by a member of the Perrones with Barrio 18 gang ties, providing insight into the continued activities of a drug trafficking group whose top leadership has largely been taken down.

On July 30, authorities arrested Jose Enrique Torres, the leader of a remnant of the Perrones who was allegedly involved in a drug trafficking network linked to the Barrio 18 gang, reported El Faro.

Police investigations revealed that Torres had set up a new drug trafficking operation in the eastern region of the country with the aid of Luis Edgardo Franco Arevalo, an alleged drug trafficker belonging to the Barrio 18 gang. Franco reportedly worked with criminals in Panama and Colombia to bring drugs to El Salvador.

The network allegedly operated with the collaboration of judicial officials -- who are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for reducing sentences -- and law enforcement officers. At least 29 individuals linked to the Perrones network were arrested during the operation, according to La Prensa Grafica. These included the anti-narcotics chief of the city of San Miguel and a municipal government attorney. 

InSight Crime Analysis

The Perrones is a so-called "transportista" group that works for a variety of criminal organizations moving drugs and other contraband north and bringing cash south. The group has links to Mexican and Colombian organizations, and receives cocaine shipments brought up from South America, which it then moves north to Guatemala. The most powerful leader of the group, Jose Natividad Luna Pereira, alias "Chepe Luna," was murdered last month in Honduras.

Torres is allegedly the leader of one of the remnants of the organization. He had been captured along with another of the group's leaders, Juan Medrano, alias "Juan Colorado," in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2011, but according to the Attorney General's Office he used his contacts in the judicial system to secure his freedom.

SEE ALSO: Perrones Profile

The fact that the most recently dismantled Perrones network involved the Barrio 18 gang is unsurprising. Although the two groups have fought for control of smuggling routes, they also collaborate and Los Perrones has been known to hire members of the gang as enforcers.  

Although many of the Perrones principal leaders have been captured, the group is believed to have reestablished a significant presence in El Salvador's underworld. The most recent arrests are another indication of the group's resilience, even following Chepe Luna's death. 

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

EL SALVADOR / 15 JUN 2022

The MS13 gang and the Pentecostal Church are two worlds seemingly at odds. One man, known as Elvis, has a…

BARRIO 18 / 28 MAR 2022

A killing spree unlike anything seen since El Salvador’s civil war has delivered a macabre message from the country’s street…

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…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

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.