Bukele Government Dismantled Gang Presence in El Salvador

After ten months of state of exception, El Salvador seems to have destroyed the territorial reach and centralized leadership of the notorious MS-13 and 18th Street gangs. El Faro verified their withdrawal from communities across the country and with a veteran leader of one of the groups. To achieve it, the Bukele administration, who secretly negotiated with the gangs for three years, unleashed mass human rights violations that have raised concerns on the side effects and sustainability of the new scenario.