Transnational members of rival deadly gangs share the same prison cell in El Salvador amid the global pandemic, according to a recently published article.

El Salvador Government Putting the Rival Gangs in the Same Prison Cell 

The government's decision to house the deadly rival gangs in El Salvador was made after the killing spree that occurred in April. During that month, the National Police recorded 85 murders and an average of 17 a day. 

The explosion of violence was attributed to the infamous MS-13 gang or Mara Salvatrucha. The National Police and the government believed that the increase of violence and power inside the prison cell is because of the imprisoned gang leaders. 

The deadly transnational members of MS-13 and the two factions of Barrio 18 which have been fighting for power since the early 1990s are now sharing the same prison cell. Additionally, the two factions Emeeseas and Eighteen Men are also sharing the over crowded spaces in the six prison cells across the country.

Osiris Luna, the director of the country's prison system, said: "We want to prevent orders from going out abroad. In previous administrations, penal institutions served as headquarters for a gang to exercise control over the state."

Moreover, since the deadly rival gang members were put together in the same prison cells, there have been no reports about violence.

Unexpected Gang Truce

Ariel Alexander Ávila Gómez, an active member of the Barrio 18-Sureños gang who is being held in the Ciudad Barrios prison in San Miguel, said: "Now we are already living together with our fellow companions, right? It's something we never would have thought of but we're getting used to each other."

This is the very first time that thousands of rival gang members are sleeping together literally shoulder to shoulder. More than 2,000 inmates were in the three designated areas and these rival groups are living in harmony, an unexpected truce.

Gomez is one of the 90 inmates who shared a space designed only for 30 persons said: "Here, as you can see, we are greatly overcrowded - there are 46 of our gang's faction and 44 of the other." 

To control peace and order inside the overcrowded cell where deadly rival gang members are sharing small spaces, the inmates have organized themselves by designating one manager for every gang. Ávila Gómez and Francisco Arturo Quintero are leading the gangs inside the Ciudad Barrios prison.

Quintero said: "We are trying to live together, as my fellow inmate told you. We did not expect this. It has been a surprise for us to be here, but we have coordinated between both gangs so that everything goes well." 

The Decision to Put Together the Deadly Rival Gangs Were Criticized

Even though, there has been no recorded violence since the deadly gang members were put together in the same prison cell, this action of the government was criticized by the different groups most especially by the Human Rights Watch.

José Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch's Americas division, said that the government's action is "putting more lives at risk of a potential contagion - inside and outside detention centers." He also asserted that the new directives show cruelty and wickedness. 

Meantime, even though there is no violence reported inside the prison cell since they shared the same overcrowded spaces but there is a possibility in the days to come that there will be an increase of gang collaboration both inside and outside the prisons. 

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