A soldier patrolling the streets of downtown San Salvador, the military has been sent to the streets to join the police in combating the gangs.
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A young Salvadoran migrant family embarks on their journey toward the United States as a new caravan seeks to reach the Untied States to request refuge. They are escaping the ongoing violence and lack of opportunities.
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The crime scene where a young man was gunned down. The cause of the attack which claimed the young man’s life is unknown but it is believed to be gang related.
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A patient coat with blood stains lays on a chair after being wore by a girl who had an underground abortion due to an unwanted pregnancy which was the outcome of a force relationship with a gang member. In El Salvador abortion is illegal so women need to find an underground clinic and trusted doctor to perform such a procedure.
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Omar Pimentel and his oldest son at the cemetery visiting the tomb of his family, Mara Salvatrucha - MS13 gangsters killed 5 members of his family including his youngest son who was 13 yrs old.
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Coffins being transfer to a funeral home after being purchased at a workshop in the town of Jucauapa which is known to be the principal coffin maker in El Salvador and it has a about 40 workshops making business of the on high demand of these due to the ongoing violence mainly caused by the gangs.
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Rosa has been looking for her sister and niece for more than five years, they are both part of the thousands of Salvadorans who have disappeared in the country. About 11 thousands person are missing in El Salvador and most have been victims of the ongoing gang violence.
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A former gang member checks his study notes inside the Apanteos prison located in Santa Ana which holds former members of the the three major gangs Mara Salvatrucha - MS13, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios and Barrio 18 Sureños.
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Children playing volleyball. El Salvador is one of the most dangerous countries for teenagers and young adults due to the ongoing gang violence.
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People at the Libertad Square in the historic downtown. The historic downtown is controlled by the gangs, demanding extortion money to the businesses and attacking anyone who is suspicious of being a rival gang member.
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The Mara Salvatrucha - MS13 gang has presence at La Estacion community which was settled along an abandoned railroad which lacks access to potable water.
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Police officers from the Salvadoran National Police - PNC search and check the apartment which is suspected of being part of a gang. The tenants are being question on how they ended up occupying the apartment. Gang members have a habit of occupying abandoned houses or buildings and not paying rent or utilities although they have electricity and running water.
A NOT SO SAFE COUNTRY
El Salvador was labeled as a safe third country by the by the Trump Administration to force Central American refugees to seek asylum there as a better option than the United States in order to deal with the thousands refugees who arrive to its southwestern border seeking refugee. President Nayib Bukele, who had recently taking the presidency of El Salvador assured the United States government the country was no longer the violent nation once labeled due to the high homicide rate caused by the gang war. Although the facts are that months before El Salvador became a “safe country” hundreds of Salvadorans had left the country to seek refuge in the United States, having one of the largest exodus of people leaving at once the country due to the gang violence and lack of opportunities due to the gang war. The country was not even safe for the Salvadorans how could it be for others. Yet the current government continues to play down the real dangers the majority of the Salvadoran society continue to endure, just to please the US government, specially Trump who has even offended the nation yet when Trump called Bukele answered, even though he is fully aware that El Salvador is NO SAFE COUNTRY.
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