Drug War: Did El Salvador Officials 'Negotiate' with Street Gangs to Bring Down Violence?

The Pan-American Post: "A new report by El Faro suggests that, confronted with a surge in homicide rates, the government of El Salvador may have struck a deal with the country’s two largest street gangs – Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 – in order to reduce violence.

Last week, officials transferred around 30 imprisoned leaders of these two gangs from maximum security institutions to prisons with more relaxed rules on visitations. According to El Faro, sources within law enforcement, intelligence, and the gangs themselves claim that this was done as a favor to the gang leaders after they issued orders to their subordinates to cut down on killings in the country." read more