According to sources, residents in areas such as the Italia District, the Bálsamo Mountains and Tacuba are reporting the actions of gangs and are calling for government action to address this resurgence.
According to Marvin Reyes of the MTP, they received reports that people associated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) are walking through some areas of these communities to carry out surveillance work or use mobile phones to post, send messages and videos such as receiving calls.
These individuals monitor the movements of police and soldiers assigned to the area, Reyes said.
These actions indicate that “the gang structure is activated, since the area of the Italia district was one of the strongest strongholds of the MS gang, the headquarters and operational brains of this criminal structure, and that it still denies having disappeared” , he added .
The MTP pointed out that there are also other areas where gang activity is reported, such as in Altavista de Ilopango, in Tacuba (Ahuachapán) and in the Cordillera de El Bálsamo area, in La Libertad.
The union claimed that no major operations were carried out in Tacuba, despite information about the presence of armed gang members. Operations were carried out in Altavista, they added, but not on the scale they deserved.
The union’s warning confirms more than a dozen confidential National Police reports published by InSight Crime magazine that said the three main gangs operating in El Salvador were “weakened” after a year and a half of a state of emergency still a subtle threat.
The Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), Barrio 18 Sureños and Barrio 18 Revolucionarios maintain 54 armed groups, particularly in rural areas.
According to the reports, nearly 43,000 people considered gang members remain at large in three categories: active members (homeboys), aspiring members (checks) and so-called “collaborators,” a broad term for the alleged operators and assistants. of these groups.
InSight Crime noted that these figures “call into question the triumphalism of Nayib Bukele’s government, which has promoted an unprecedented offensive against these criminal groups.”
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