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In this May 28, 2015 photo, members of the fast response police units, known as Halcones, detain a suspected gang member, who was found out of breath on a bed following a chase by police, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Observers blame the worsening insecurity on the breakdown of a 1.5-year-old truce between the gangs and the government. While the homicide rate plunged, critics say the truce gave the gangs time to strengthen, train and acquire heavier arms than they had in the past. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__5_]()
In this May 27, 2015 photo, a police officer and a soldier, patrol a rural area following a violent confrontation between police and gang members in Canton El Salamo, near Olocuilta, El Salvador. The police say they are ready for battle. "Things have to get worse before they get better," said a police official. "When I see one (gang member) on the street, I'm going to shoot him before he shoots me." (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__3_]()
In this June 12, 2015 photo, hairdressers take a break from their work at a hair salon in downtown San Salvador, El Salvador. Violence in El Salvador is reaching a level that rivals the worst days of guerrilla warfare decades ago, few are willing to risk becoming a target. Word on the street is that only the girlfriends of gang members are allowed to be redheads or blondes. So in this violent place, women are scurrying to salons to give up their blond hair and highlights, to dye it all black, not out of fashion sense, but out of fear. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__7_]()
In this May 28, 2015 photo, suspected members of the 18th Street gang are transported in a livestock trailer to"bartolinas", the Spanish word for holding cells, in Panchimalco, El Salvador. We can go in and arrest 50 gang members and 50 more will take their places, says assistant national police chief, who believes nothing will change unless the country addresses problems of poverty and a lack of opportunity for young people. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__16_]()
In this May 28, 2015 photo, a member of the fast response police units, known as Halcones, question a suspected gang member found out of breath, lying on a bed of this home, following a chase, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Observers blame the worsening insecurity on the breakdown of a 1.5-year-old truce between the gangs and the government. While the homicide rate plunged, critics say the truce gave the gangs time to strengthen, train and acquire heavier arms than they had in the past. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__1_]()
In this May 30, 2015 photo, a fast response units' policeman questions relatives of a man who was allegedly killed by a Mara Salvatrucha gang member, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Fear is pervasive across San Salvador. As daylight fades, stores close up early and streets empty. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__8_]()
This May 26, 2015 photo shows human remains of an unidentified person at the Institute of Legal Medicine, in San Salvador, El Salvador. The bones were unburied last March from a clandestine cemetery near the village of Zacatecoluca. The governments crackdown on gang strongholds in the cities has caused members to flee to surrounding rural areas, bringing violence with them. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__11_]()
In this May 27, 2015 photo, relatives of a Mara Salvatrucha gang member retrieve his body from a steep gully after he was shot dead in a confrontation with police, in Olocuilta, El Salvador. Two bodies were found at the bottom of the gully following a shootout that began near an old cattle stable, which gang members had turned into a shooting range. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__14_]()
This May 26, 2015 photo shows the rib bones of an unidentified person at the Institute of Legal Medicine, in San Salvador, El Salvador. The bones were unburied last March from a clandestine cemetery near the village of Zacatecoluca. The governments crackdown on gang strongholds in the cities has caused members to flee to surrounding rural areas, bringing violence with them. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__2_]()
In this May 30, 2015 photo, members of the fast response police units speed to an emergency call in San Salvador, El Salvador. El Salvador has just experienced one of its most-violent months, with more than 600 homicides reported in May for the country of just over 6 million people. June is on track to break that mark. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__6_]()
In this May 28, 2015 photo, the sister of Alberto Hernández faints moments after identifying his body, in a rural area near Caserío el Chumpe, El Salvador. Police believe that the 42-year-old man made his living as a driver and was kidnapped and killed by gang members. His body was discovered at a clandestine grave site by family members when they spotted vultures circling overhead. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__12_]()
In this May 28, 2015 photo, suspected members of the 18th Street gang stand handcuffed in pairs at a police station in Panchimalco, near San Salvador, El Salvador. A new government announced officially an end to the 2013 gang truce in January, returning leaders to maximum security and starting aggressive attacks and arrests, leaving the streets to younger and more reckless criminals. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__4_]()
This June 12, 2015 photo shows hair styling doll heads on a counter at a hair salon in downtown San Salvador, El Salvador. Salvadoran women are giving up their blonde hair and highlights and dying it all black out of fear. The word on the street is that only the girlfriends of gang members are allowed to be redheads or blondes. Women who defy the order could be attacked. Theres no evidence the rumors are true. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__9_]()
In this May 28, 2015 photo, a suspected gang member who was found out of breath on a bed following a chase by police, faces a wall with his hands on his head, in San Salvador, El Salvador. In January, the 6-month-old government of President Salvador Sanchez Ceren officially broke a 2013 gang truce, launching an aggressive crackdown and putting gang leaders back in isolated prisons. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)![El_Salvador_violence__13_]()
In this May 27, 2015 photo, images of missing people are tacked to a wall at the Institute of Legal Medicine, in San Salvador, El Salvador. The Central American country has just experienced one of its most-violent months since the end of the civil war in 1992, with more than 600 homicides reported in May for a population of just over 6 million. June is on track to break that mark. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)Streets of El Salvador taken over by fear, once again
Fear is pervasive across San Salvador. As daylight fades, stores close early and streets empty. At night, roadblocks go up to thwart possible grenade attacks on police stations, where officers sleep rather than risk being attacked while riding buses home.
Move Forward
- Streets of El Salvador taken over by fear, once again
