Stunning pics show more than 1,200 prisoners in El Salvador being transferred away from one of the world’s most notorious jails
Jail being shut down because officials could not control the illegal activity going on behind bars
OVER 1,200 prisoners belonging to one of El Salvador’s toughest gang have been transferred from a maximum-security prison closed for corruption.
The men are being moved to various medium-security prisons after the Cojutepeque prison was shut down because of illegal activity inside the jail.
Incredible pictures show the 1,282 members of the 18th street gang being loaded onto buses to travel to their new cells.
The huge upheaval comes a week after the ex-head of the national prison system was arrested on suspicion of corruption.
Nelson Rauda had been on the run since May and was wanted for crimes he had committed between 2012 and 2013.
He was captured by police 70km from the capital of San Salvador.
It is believed that Rauda was involved in the gang truce between the 18th street gang and Mara Salvatrucha.
The momentous truce between the notorious gangs resulted in a huge drop in killings in the Central American country.
But the agreement broke down in 2013, leading to skyrocketing homicide figures.
According to Attorney General Douglas Meléndez, even though the truce was not illegal, it helped to strengthen the gang, and its culture, in El Salvador.
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The 18th street gang, also known as Barrio 18, was formed in Los Angeles in the 1960s.
It is believed that there are 35,000 members, straddling Canada, the United States and Central America.
In the 1990s, gang violence was getting so serious in Los Angeles, that officials started to deport members back to El Salvador.
It was then that Barrio 18 took hold in the Central American country.
The gang usually identifies themselves with the number 18, on their clothes or tattooed onto their skin.
They usually wear black and blue and are a multi-racial gang.
In May, Vice reported that 11 per cent of the population of El Salvador are involved in gang activity.
The Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS 13, is also thought to be one of the most notorious gangs in El Salvador.
Like Barrio 18, the gang originated in Los Angeles and now has a strong hold in Central America.
In recent years, the government has had a hard line approach to gang violence.
Just last month, El Salvador’s vice president promised that gangs would be “defeated” within a year.
Óscar Ortiz said at a press conference: “We cannot tolerate these groups dictating the terms of security for families.
“We have to find them, pursue them, and crush them, that is our mission in these next twelve months.”
The country has some of the highest murder rates in Central America.
The gangs usually commit murder and extortion.
Ms 13 also has links to drug traffickers.
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