Gang Divisions Provoked 2021 Massacre and Almost Toppled Negotiations with Bukele

When a spike in homicides in November 2021 put Nayib Bukele’s negotiations with El Salvador’s gangs in crisis, officials mediated with the criminal organizations to curb the violence. While police documents ascribed the death of 45 people to differences between MS-13 and 18th Street, a source from the Mara Salvatrucha asserted that they were caused by a rift inside the gang over how the negotiations were conducted.