Officials in El Salvador are investigating the murder of 14 inmates in the Quezaltepeque prison, located about 20 miles north of San Salvador . Both the suspects and the victims were Barrio 18 (aka Mara 18) gang members, leading spokespersons for the El Salvadorian Department of Prisons say. Accordingly, prison officials suspect that the violence was the result of an internal purge and not a sign of inter-gang warfare. The identities of the slain gang members were released in a news conference, as well as their aliases and the crimes that they had committed. The deaths follow a spike in homicides throughout the country last week, in which 125 people were killed in just three days.
“These are worrisome numbers. These are Salvadorans who are dying. Regardless of who is a gang member or not," said National Police chief Mauricio Ramirez, according to the AFP .
The Central American country has a population of just 6.3 million people, but an estimated 70,000 are active members of the street gangs Mara Salvatrucha (aka MS 13) and Barrio 18. Around 10,000 of those gang members are currently in the nation's jails.
Officials implemented a state of emergency following the 14 deaths, confining prisoners to their cells and halting visitations from friends and family. The slain men were part of the Revolutionarios faction of Barrio 18, according to Fox News Latino . Two were incarcerated for weapons possession, and 12 were serving sentences for either aggravated extortion or charges related to homicide.
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