The Directorate General of Prisons (DGCP) notified Saturday night that at least 14 inmates inside the prison of Quezaltepeque, a city located about 15 kilometers from the capital San Salvador.
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The deaths are linked to an internal dispute involving the Barrio 18 gang, a spokesman for the prison has said.
Security agents and riot police found their bodies among some garbage bins, added Chicas, labeling it “a purge”.
Police told newsmen Wednesday that there were no fewer than 125 murder cases every three days in the country, a staggering toll even by El Salvador’s standards.
“These are worrisome numbers”.
National data also show that gangs have some 72,000 members operating across the country, and that 13,000 of them are in detention. It was formed in Los Angeles, recruiting primarily Latino members. “Regardless of who is a gang member or not”.
The group was demanding to be included in a commission examining ways of stemming urban violence – which they are largely responsible for.
The dead are believed to have belonged to a Barrio 18 section known as the “faccion revolucionarios”, or revolutionaries’ faction, suspected of forcing bus drivers into a violence-plagued strike in late July, the authorities said.
President Sanchez Ceren has focused on tackling crime since he took office but the country has faced a sharp increase in violence since 2014.
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By seeking to shut down public transport, the gang hoped to strong-arm the government to the negotiating table.
