When the sun goes down the officers of El Salvador drive around the city and stop crime and investigate crime scenes. They wear masks on there face and body armor, the masks are used to protect their identity. Some officers are target if there identity is reveiled. I had the amazing chance to be able to interview Sergeant Preza who works in the capital San Salvador and investigates homicides. He stated "the problem a small city like our is that many of these gang members are better armed then law enforcement, and the black market doesn't help this matter" Many of these gang members have unregistered gun, and many young children are exposed to this violence from a very young age. As per my own experience growing up in a country with just violence, by the age of 6 I had seen many guns and seen many innocent people get killed not far from where I used to live. My family alone had about 7 guns at home because of the violence around. Many people pay rent to the gang members. Imagine having to live in your home and having to pay someone else rent ? That's exactly what is like over there, if you don't pay your family gets target and most of the time even killed. Many of the new neighbors were always target as well, if your new your "rent" price is even higher. 
GUN LAWS
  • The right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law
  • Private possession of fully automatic weapons is prohibited
  • Private possession of semi-automatic assault weapons is permitted under license
  • Private possession of handguns (pistols and revolvers) is permitted under license
  • Civilian possession of rifles and shotguns is regulated by law
  • The private sale and transfer of firearms is prohibited
  • Dealing in firearms by way of business without a valid gun dealer’s license is unlawful
  • The minimum wait for a lawful firearm purchase to be completed is undetermined
  • Gun shows and temporary firearm dealing events are not regulated in law

GUN FREE ZONES
  • Private guns are prohibited in public institutions, social centers, cultural and educational sites, restaurants, hotels, pensions, bars, shows, places where alcoholic beverages are served, beer bars, billiard saloons, public places, gas stations, amusement and natural parks, as well as during public events, parades, demonstrations or strikes, civic, religious or sporting reunions, and in public transportation

PENALTIES
  • The maximum penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm is suspension of the licence or registration certificate and a fine


What is MS13? How did they come about ? What do they do?

MS 13 is a international gang that started in Los Angeles, California during the 1970-1980, and has since then spread throughout the U.S.A, Mexico, Central America and Canada. Throughout the years they have terrorized many communities around the world but what's their motive ? "the group's motto, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, is "kill, rape, control."

MS13 gang members do things like dishonest and fraudulent business dealings, as well as obtaining things, especially money, through force or threats. They conceal the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses, prostitution, drug trafficking and a lot more. The worst part of all of this is that when someone gets in their way of making money or selling drugs they end up raped, kidnapped, violently murder or assaulted.
​MS-13 gang members languish in a 'gang cage' in the Quezaltepeque police station in San Salvador, El Salvador. These overcrowded cages were designed to be 72-hour holding cells, but many of the individuals have been imprisoned for more than a year.
GILES CLARKE/GETTY IMAGES
What is 18 Street? Where do they come from and what do they do ? What is the problem between MS 13 and 18 Street? 

18 Street are the rivals of MS 13, they often fight over territory, money and drugs. They are believe to have "30,000 to 50,000 members across 20 US states" according to Daily news. They are also allies with Mexican Mafia gang. They are linked to many murders across the country, as well as taking people away illegally by force, typically to obtain a ransom and many violent crimes. 18 Street started in Los Angeles, California in the 1960's. What made 18 Street gang members so unique was that they broke the racial barrier, many of the people they would recruit where Native Americans, African Americans, Asians and caucasians. 
Getty Images. A Barrio 18 member is seen in the 'gang cage' in El Salvador. His tattoos include BEST (for 'Barrio Eighteenth Street'), 666 (for 6+6+6=18) and X8, which stands for absolute gang loyalty
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The lab receives bags of bloodstained evidence but doesn’t have the equipment to test D.N.A.CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times

​In a article in the New York times "MS-13, Trump and America’s Stake in El
​Salvador’s Gang War" By Ali Watkins and Meridith Kohut explained a terrific story of a father and 2 children being killed by MS 13, it was said the reason why they were killed was because they were believed to be informants, however the family has denied those allegations. Now Mrs Ayala hides with her children and as stated in the article is being supported by her oldest son who survived and is now seeking asylum. It was very heartbreaking to hear Mrs Ayala stated her feelings on the police and gang members, she explains "“Talking to the police is a death sentence,” Ms. Ayala said. “But it is good to have the police at the districts, because if they weren’t here, we wouldn’t be alive". During my interview with Sergeant Preza he also stated something similar "many of the people the community are afraid to speak up because their lives are constantly being threaten by gang members, however if we don't know what's going on we can't protect them" Many of the people in the community are to afraid to "snitch" because that's a recipe for disaster, if the gang members find out your being an informant you will end up dead and they will kill your family as well as it was said by Sergeant Preza. 

I also asked him "what do you think the government could do to improve violence and crime?" and the response was "its simple, we need more resources. But in a country were there's so much poverty is hard to be able to get any source of help. Even with help from there countries like the USA is not enough for us to be able to maintain security in the entire country where this gang members have neglect the people in the community". This response related to what was said in the article in the New York times " El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America — 60 killings per 100,000 residents — and just one forensics lab to process evidence. The small facility holds one of the country’s two bullet-analysis systems and a collection of outdated blood-testing contraptions handed down from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Paper evidence bags are filled with bloody clothing and guns". This evidence shows how the country is in such poverty state. You can't possible fight back if you don't have the money to do so, you not even have enough forensic lab in the country to be able to hold the bodies that are collected on a daily basis. Not only that but there's also limited forensic staff to be able to thoroughly go through all the evidence that they receive on a daily basis. However with the help of other countries, and people who donate, resources will be easier to get and will help violence in the future.


Katz, C., Hedberg, E., & Amaya, L. (2016). Gang truce for violence prevention, El Salvador. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(9), 660-666A.

Rivers of blood; Violence in El Salvador. (2015). The Economist, 417(8959), 35-36.

Karp, Aaron.2018.‘Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017.’ Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers.Geneva:Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva,18 June.

Karp, Aaron.2012.‘Estimated Civilian Gun Ownership.’ Measurement and Use of Statistical Data to Analyze Small Arms in the Caribbean and Latin America.Mexico City:United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Center of Excellence, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI),28 April. 

Karp, Aaron.2012.‘Country Analyses: El Salvador.’ Measurement and Use of Statistical Data to Analyze Small Arms in the Caribbean and Latin America.Mexico City:United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Center of Excellence, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI),28 April. 

.Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms - Annexe online.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August. (Q5)

Graham, Ronan.2011.‘El Salvador Police Count 120,000 Unregistered Firearms.’ InSight - Research, Analysis and Investigation on Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.Bogotá:InSight Crime,25 November.(Q5998)

Rodríguez, José de Jesús González.2014.‘Firearms in Central America (Armas en América Central).’ Firearms Trafficking: Context, Legislative Proposals and Public Opinion (Trafico de Armas: Entorno, Propuestas Legislativas y Opinión Pública).Mexico City:Centro de Estudios Sociales y de Opinión Pública (Social Studies and Public Opinion Center),1 December. 

Watkins, A., & Kohut, M. (2018, December 10). A Conflicted War: MS-13, Trump and America's Stake in El Salvador's Security. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/el-salvador-ms-13.html
Cruz, J., & Durán-Martínez, A. (2016). Hiding violence to deal with the state: Criminal pacts in El Salvador and Medellin. Journal of Peace Research, 53(2), 197-210.

Olate, R., Salas-Wright, C., Vaughn, M., Parada, H., Saracostti, M., & Reininger, T. (2012). Predictors of violence and delinquency among high risk youth and youth gang members in San Salvador, El Salvador. International Social Work, 55(3), 383-401.

Harris, D., Desiderio, A., Millman, J., & Effron, L. (2016, May 17). In El Salvador, the Murder Capital of the World, Gang Violence Becomes a Way of Life. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/International/el-salvador-murder-capital-world-gang-violence-life/story?id=39177963

Malkin, E. (2015). A Way Out for Gang Members in a Country Torn by Violence. The New York Times, p. A4

The Associated Press. (2014). El Salvador: 6 gunned down on bus. The New York Times, p. A8.