Ross Kemp immerses himself in the dangerous world of the MS13 gang in El Salvador; considered by the American Government to be the second greatest threat to the USA after al-Qaeda. Kemp struggles to reconcile the differences between the warm hospitality of many of the gang members he meets, and the brutal crimes they openly admit to.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00El Salvador, the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America, and the most dangerous.
00:17I've traveled to this tiny region to meet a gang that's brought terror to the streets, by far the biggest and most deadly in El Salvador.
00:30That gang is Marisol Petruccia, MS-13.
01:00We've just arrived in El Salvador, in fact we're in San Salvador City, the capital.
01:15And we've come to try and meet Marisol Petruccia, which is MS-13, the biggest and fastest growing gang on the planet, and notoriously the most violent.
01:31For 12 years El Salvador was ravaged by a bloody and indiscriminate civil war.
01:41Since peace was restored in 1992, that violence has been replaced by a new conflict between El Salvador's two rival gangs, the 18th Street and MS-13.
01:52What I want to know is, how do these gangs develop so quickly, and why are they so violent?
02:03My journey begins here at the principal courthouse in San Salvador, to see for myself just how bad the gang problem is.
02:11Almost immediately I'm struck by the number of handcuffed youths on display, many of whom proudly identify themselves as gang members.
02:22My contact here is Tom Gibb, a British journalist who's lived in El Salvador on and off since the Civil War.
02:29He's going to act as my guide and interpreter.
02:32Tom, can you tell me a little bit about where we are?
02:36We're at the Central Criminal Court for San Salvador.
02:40That's these buildings, and then over there behind us there's the morgue.
02:44And that's really the two ways out for an awful lot of gang members.
02:48They're either brought here and then go on to jail, or they're brought here dead.
02:52That's one thing that I've noticed in the short period of time that I've been here, is there are an awful lot of weapons, people carrying guns.
02:58This is a very, very violent country. I really hoped at the end of the Civil War that there would be peace, and real peace, but in fact the levels of violence have carried on at almost the same rates.
03:11There was a war in which something like 2% of the population were killed.
03:16That in British terms would be like a million people, and the legacy of that has continued.
03:22There's this war going on between the two main gangs, the 18th Street Gang and the MS-13, the Mala Salvatrucha, and there are daily killings from that.
03:32So that morgue over there is a busy place, yeah?
03:34Yes, indeed. Yes, it is.
03:39Some guys coming in with them. Who are these guys?
03:41These are Special Forces Police. They've got their faces masked so that they can't be recognised.
03:48And they just pulled in a big guy, yeah?
03:49Yeah, I don't know whether he's a gang member or not.
03:53There's been a steady procession of handcuffed gang members escorted to the courthouse since I arrived.
03:58But this guy was different, and why did he warrant such tight security?
04:03Hola. Hola, que tal?
04:05I was just asking why he's here.
04:07Yeah, yeah. Por qué te llevaron aqu�
04:11He says he doesn't know.
04:12Doesn't know?
04:14So these guys have just dragged you in here for no reason?
04:16No, they haven't told him anything, yeah.
04:20Can I ask him if this is the first time he's ever been brought here?
04:23It's the first time he's ever been brought here?
04:25It's the first time he says he's been brought here.
04:26It's the first time he says he's been brought here.
04:27I've got a feeling I don't know why, but I don't.
04:29So he has no idea why they've brought him all the way from there, here, at all?
04:31It's the first time he says he's been brought here.
04:32It's the first time he says he's been brought here.
04:34It's the first time he says he's been brought here.
04:36I've got a feeling I don't know why, but I don't.
04:37So he has no idea why they've brought him all the way from there, here, at all?
04:38I don't know why, but I don't.
04:39So he has no idea why they've brought him all the way from there, here, at all?
04:45I was right not to trust this man.
04:57The heavy security was because of this.
05:01As a member of MS-13's rival gang, 18th Street, he's accused of ordering the murder of two brothers, aged just eight and twelve.
05:10As witnesses to a previous crime, they were both gunned down, along with three other victims.
05:17I'm shocked at how he could just sit there so calmly, considering the crime he's accused of.
05:27One thing's for sure, El Salvador has a level of violence that far exceeds any other country I've been to.
05:35There are, on average, 11 murders a day within a population smaller than London.
05:39No wonder the city's morgue is such a busy place.
05:45So, what happened here is the family are coming to pick up a body, a violent death, a stabbing.
05:50And this is the family, and this is how it's done here.
05:52They just turn up at the morgue, the body's there, they put it in their own coffin,
05:57and they take it home, have their wake, and they bury it.
06:01Life and death in, er, in San Salvador.
06:14In El Salvador, death is indeed a common sight.
06:29This is a twenty-year-old bus conductor executed by a single shot to the head, in broad daylight, in front of hundreds of witnesses.
06:41According to police sources, he had refused to pay protection money to a gang, and paid the ultimate price.
06:47My first day in El Salvador, and I've already seen two bodies.
07:00Tom had informed me of a tough government policy known as Manadura, introduced in an effort to stem the growing gang violence.
07:10This new law gave the police powers of arrest for simply wearing gang clothes, having gang tattoos, or even hanging out in public with other gang members.
07:19Whilst this may have succeeded in putting more MS-13 behind bars, this draconian policy has actually backfired, forcing the gangs underground.
07:30In order to meet the gang, I need permission from high-ranking members who run MS-13 from prison.
07:36Four hours from San Salvador is Suidad Barrios, housing 997 of the most violent and influential gang members in the country.
07:50Right, we're in Suidad Barrios prison, just about to go and meet what we've come to see.
07:57It's 13.
07:58So powerful are these inmates that it was them, and not the warders, who granted us permission to enter.
08:07As I walk through this imposing compound, I make a startling discovery.
08:12Everywhere I look, I see MS-13 gangsters, and not one single warder.
08:18This is a prison guarded from the outside, and I am completely at the mercy of Hugo, a high-ranking MS member, and a convicted murderer.
08:28So, this is a purely MS prison, yeah?
08:31And the reason that, when did they start segregating the prisons into different gangs?
08:37In 2000, 2001, right?
08:39Because there was too much violence, too much violence between them.
08:42Too many problems, and then, with all the gang members, we got a fire every day, in different places, and now we got together, and everything is cool.
08:58Before the authorities segregated prisons, members of MS-13 and their enemy, the 18th Street Gang, frequently clashed.
09:05It is said that in this very yard, MS-13 members played football with the severed head of a rival.
09:13It's stories like this that give MS-13 its fearsome reputation.
09:19I hear we're going to the cell, don't believe it.
09:22As I continue my tour of the prison, I'm struck at how bad conditions are.
09:27It's all dirty, a lot of homies getting sick, diarrhea, homies getting diarrhea, fever.
09:31Since the introduction of Manadura, this prison's population has increased by 80%.
09:38Have you noticed, since the Manadura has been in place, more people are coming in here, yeah?
09:41Yeah.
09:43What do you think about that?
09:44What the cops, they said outside on the street, they said, he was selling drugs, he was a killer. He's in this, he's in that.
09:52When he come out to the court, we put some years, 20, 15, 100 years, most of the time, the people, they don't do that.
10:02And they say that we're doing that.
10:06So they're just being persecuted because they're MS, yeah?
10:08Yeah.
10:09But having said that, I mean, you guys are a violent gang as well at the same time, that's not, we're not fireboys, are we?
10:16That's not the point, man.
10:18But the point is that the government, they've got to do a lot of, you know, programs in the street, programs, you know, to put these people to work, to do something.
10:27Yeah, but having said that, I mean, people here have committed murder, haven't they? And they have shot people.
10:33If someone from my neighborhood, they go to another neighborhood, he's going to get killed, you know, because he's an enemy.
10:41But what's the basis for, what's the basis for that he's an enemy? Why is he an enemy?
10:45Because he's from another neighborhood. Right. You don't get along. You don't get along.
10:49Shall we move on? Shall we have a look around, guys?
10:52I've no doubt about the level of animosity these men have towards their enemy, 18th Street.
10:58The fact that they refuse to say their name, referring to them instead as, the other neighborhood, speaks volumes.
11:05Why do you think people join MS?
11:08Because they want to be part of the family, that's fine.
11:12Do you have any family outside?
11:13Yeah, I got my son. I got a kid, he's 14 years old, in Los Angeles.
11:18Would you want your son to become a member of Mara Salvatrice?
11:21Oh, no.
11:24No, I tell my son, you know, to be, not hanging around with the gangsters.
11:29I want, you know, I tell my son, you know, to be a normal people, not to be like me.
11:35I'm a gang member. I walk with my family, right?
11:38But the enemy, they know me. They don't respect my family.
11:43They shoot me in front of my family.
11:45That's the way that they act in all the neighborhood.
11:48And we know, and we respect, because we've got a rules.
11:52But these people don't respect the family.
11:54They kill the family, they kill you. They don't give a fuck.
11:58Well, you must have lost friends along the way, huh?
12:00Yeah.
12:02And you? You've lost many friends, yeah?
12:05Yeah.
12:06Mm-hmm.
12:13Having met such a key player in MS-13 as Hugo, their existence seems straightforward.
12:20As far as I can see, their life is about gang rivalry and the protection of their territory through violence.
12:26Well, that's the MS prison at Suidad Barrios.
12:36Seems to me the government are more interested in incarceration than rehabilitation.
12:40From what I've experienced in there, I can't see any good coming out of this place.
12:45My eight-hour round trip was certainly worth it. Not least of all because Hugo and his associates have given permission for me to meet with an active gang on the streets of El Salvador.
13:01It's my third day in El Salvador on the trail of Mara Salvatrucha. By far the biggest, and it's fair to say, the most violent gang in the world.
13:21But MS-13 was actually started in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadorian immigrants.
13:28And at the end of the Civil War, as these immigrants returned home, so did the gang.
13:33Even today, weekly flights dump more deportees on the Salvadorian authorities.
13:38Many of whom are MS-13 gang members from across America.
13:44Two gangsters who found themselves on one such flight were Eric and Duke.
13:48Duke has been an MS-13 gang member since its beginnings in Los Angeles.
13:53I wanted to find out from him whether the violence of the Civil War was in any way linked to the emergence of MS-13.
14:00Can you tell me a little bit about the history of MS?
14:04At that time, the 80s and late 70s, in Los Angeles, there was a race war.
14:10Like, you know, blacks didn't like whites, whites didn't like blacks, and this shit was happening.
14:16We're from a cellar, we don't understand that.
14:19We don't leave race stuff right here, that was the United States.
14:23And then all of a sudden, we had to start defending ourselves.
14:26Since we were only a few of us, and, you know, we've seen so much shit down here.
14:33Shit, I mean, at seven years old, I used to find every time I used to go buy bread early in the morning, I used to find a lot of suckers decapitated by La Guardia.
14:44By the police.
14:45By the police.
14:46Escuadron de la muerte.
14:47All right?
14:48That's killing spots.
14:49All right?
14:50And they used to do all the dirty jobs, all right?
14:53So, we saw and we learned, even though we didn't want to, I mean, violence was in us.
15:00I think we started defending ourselves.
15:02We started being proud, you know, being from, you know, we saw whites being proud of being white.
15:07We saw blacks being proud of being black.
15:10Shit.
15:11Why wouldn't we be proud of being Salvadorian?
15:14So, you were the hardest boys there?
15:16Well, the thing is that, uh...
15:19Now we are.
15:20Gangs.
15:21Gangs at that time, they used to, uh, play, being a gang member.
15:28You know, the most you can get from a rival at those times was, uh, being stabbed.
15:35That was the worst that could happen to you.
15:37And, uh, we didn't come from a country where we were watching somebody get stabbed.
15:44We were watching somebody get 20 bullets in his chest and his head cut off and his arms cut off.
15:54That's what we used to watch as violent.
15:58And since, for them, the worst that could happen was a bat in your back and, or, or, or maybe being stabbed.
16:07That was, that was the most.
16:08They, they had reached their highest violence point.
16:13And, and we said, man, fuck this shit.
16:15That ain't violent.
16:16They haven't seen shit.
16:17Let's show this fuck, you know, show these fools what violence is.
16:21And that's how, you know.
16:23I think it's really interesting how MS started as a backlash to persecution in the United States of America.
16:34And now it's traveled all the way back here.
16:38And you can see how this country must have been such a fertile breeding ground after the end of the revolution.
16:43The people with lots of weapons, there's still lots of kind of violence inside them.
16:48The interesting thing about them is that, you know, they don't seem to be like most gangs associated with any kind of drugs or making money.
16:55It all seems to be basically about, um, I hate everybody else that isn't in my gang.
17:00And I will kill everybody who isn't in my gang.
17:03And from what we've seen so far, that's exactly what they do.
17:07Having established why MS-13 have such a violent mentality, it's time for me to meet an active gang on the streets of San Salvador.
17:22Journalist Tom has once again joined me to interpret.
17:26And this is predominantly an MS area where we are now.
17:28Right here is MS, yeah, but if you go a couple of blocks down that way, literally a couple of blocks, it's 18th Street.
17:36And then down in the other direction, there's 18th Street.
17:38And then the other side, there's a little island of MS as well.
17:41So there's little satellites dotted all around.
17:44Yes, they're living very close to each other.
17:46And a lot of the conflict is finding out who's who and where their families are and stuff like that.
17:51Just down here, the guys from the MS who we're going to meet were saying that a couple of guys, of their guys, were shot.
17:59By 18th Street?
18:00Yeah, by 18th Street, they came in.
18:01Or just here?
18:02Yeah, down here.
18:03They tend to come in in quite a large group.
18:06I don't know.
18:07They've got information where one of their rivals is.
18:11Do a quick hit and go.
18:13It's a nasty war.
18:14Yeah.
18:15Yeah.
18:16Waiting on a ridge is the gang itself, including Joker, Groupie, and their leader, Chucho.
18:24From this vantage point, they can keep watch over their territory.
18:30The gangs are probably 30,000 strong between them, the two main gangs.
18:36But they're divided into sort of cells in different bits of the city.
18:40So the clique is just each cell and each bit of territory.
18:43So the clique could be like a defined space, which is MS.
18:46Yeah.
18:47Territory.
18:48And should anyone from 18 go in there...
18:50They're dead.
18:51They're dead.
18:52So these are the boys, yeah?
18:53Yeah.
18:55Hola, my name is Ross.
18:57Please do me.
18:58I'm Ross.
18:59Ross, Ross.
19:00It's me, you guys.
19:01You're dead?
19:02Okay, yeah.
19:03Please do me.
19:04Please do me, I'm Ross.
19:05Can you explain to me, guys, what a clique is?
19:08What does it mean?
19:10Nesta colonia.
19:12Nesta territorio.
19:13Nesta clica.
19:15Nesta clica.
19:16It's their neighborhood, their territory.
19:18Nesta clica.
19:19And that's the name of the clica on the bank.
19:22Can you explain to me what the name is, though?
19:23Nesta clica.
19:24Nesta clica.
19:25Nesta clica.
19:26Nesta clica.
19:27Nesta clica.
19:28The small psychopaths of Ciudad Delgado.
19:30So, the small psychopaths of this particular area, and that's the name of the clique, yeah?
19:35Yeah, that's the name they're giving us us.
19:37Come here.
19:38So, you guys are a member of MS-13, is that correct?
19:41Yeah?
19:42Yes, they are from MS-13.
19:44They are dead.
19:45They are dead.
19:46Until they die, that's it.
19:47Until they die?
19:48Yeah.
19:49Mm-hmm.
19:50Can I ask the question, why, guys?
19:52Why do you join?
19:54Why do you become a member of MS-13?
19:56What's the reason?
19:57Well, I came to say so, to remove them, because they killed my uncle, and then I told him
20:13that he would put me in the neighborhood, and I did it, and I'm still doing it.
20:17Many times, the band, they hit the family, and then they hit the ass, but they can't leave.
20:25If somebody from 18th Street comes in here, and tries to kill or hurt somebody from MS-13,
20:33what is your response?
20:34What?
20:35But what is the conflict between the two gangs?
20:45What is it based on?
20:47With that.
20:48With that?
20:50With that, we have to take care of where we live.
20:51We take care of them.
20:53We can't let that, the ones who want to come, to do their life, where they live.
20:56Where we live.
20:57Where we live.
20:58Where we live.
21:00We are in El Salvador and here the Salvatrucha is the one who controls it.
21:04We can't come and invent them here.
21:06We are here, if they like or don't.
21:30As the leader of his clique, Chucho knows more than most the need to guard his territory.
21:35And I wanted to find out how he defends himself.
21:43Do you use weapons to protect yourself?
21:46Yeah, you do?
21:47Are you carrying one on you now?
21:50Yeah, you are. Could you show it to me?
21:53It's there.
21:56And it's loaded, isn't it? Can I just see if the mag's in there?
21:59Have a look at the bullets.
22:02Yeah, that's a real bullet.
22:05And if I get back in the mag, that would kill you.
22:10Thank you very much.
22:11Gracias.
22:12How far away are the nearest enemies?
22:16So most people here, including some of your family, going and buying bread and milk must be a complete nightmare.
22:23I mean, you risk getting killed going and getting your groceries.
22:27As a matter of fact, they try to kill me.
22:31As a matter of fact, they come to the hospital and they want me to kill.
22:34But as a matter of fact, too.
22:37As a matter of fact, when they come to the hospital, they are also charged with my family.
22:39When my family has a fear of me, I can kill others.
22:44The last time they killed me, they didn´t hear me, he didn´t hear me, he was a sordomun, and they killed me.
22:53Something that for me, because I´m the man, it´s not anything, but for the same thing.
23:01Then they´ll take care of me.
23:14I´ve just spent a day in Delgado, meeting Chucho and his friends at the Clique of MS-13 in Delgado.
23:22The striking thing to me was that, you know, MS-13 is supposed to be the second biggest threat to America after Al Qaeda.
23:30And they look like a bunch of scared lads to me.
23:34And to watch the poverty they´re living in, they don´t appear to me to be such a big threat as people just living in fear.
23:41What worries me is that these are scared kids with guns.
23:56I can see why Chucho and his gang arm themselves, living where they do, surrounded by their enemies.
24:02But for the police, these armed gangs are their greatest concern.
24:07And for me, things are about to get even more serious.
24:15I´ve been invited to accompany the police on an armed raid to a notorious drug and gang district in San Salvador.
24:23Having seen for myself the weapons used on the streets, it´s now time for me to witness the full force of the law.
24:30I have to say, looking around, it looks more like we´re about to invade a small country rather than go on a drugs bust.
24:39As night draws in, I´m still unable to find out exactly where the raid will be.
24:43And I´m not the only one.
24:45The guys, to my right, are a mixture of SWAT, their Special Elite Forces and military.
24:52And what happens is, none of them know exactly who they´re going after yet.
24:56They´re not told until they actually arrive on the ground.
24:59The reason being is, they´re worried that these guys would pass the information on.
25:03So it´s very much on a need-to-know basis. And obviously, these guys don´t need to know.
25:07After a three-hour wait, the call is made and approximately 250 heavily armed troops are dispatched.
25:17I must say, not for the first time on this trip, I´m more than a little nervous.
25:21We´re well on our way now. I think we´re about two minutes away.
25:28I´ve definitely had better Wednesday nights out, that´s for sure. And drier ones.
25:38As we arrive at the scene, I´m left to my own devices and run in after the armed police.
25:43They can´t get into this place. Obviously, it´s one of the strongest defended places here.
25:58So, they´re going in over the top, as it were.
26:02As the police force their way in, I´m surprised at the number of local press crews here.
26:07With such media interest, I wonder just how covert this operation really is.
26:14You can see he´s got boot mounts on his back. He´s been told to stay where he is.
26:18We´ve been told to leave, so let´s go.
26:20I learned afterwards that this operation was targeting six known gang members and drug dealers.
26:36Only two were caught.
26:40Despite the best efforts of the police, the criminals were tipped off and four escaped.
26:44Who knows if that warning came from a corrupt policeman or a lookout.
26:51What I do know is, the local press have their pictures, the community is frightened,
26:57and the police certainly look like they´re doing their job.
27:00I can´t help but feel the last night show of force by the police was exactly that, a show.
27:15With all the press and photographers running around, I wonder if the publicity was of more importance than the arrests.
27:23Lionel Gomez is an investigator with powerful connections and ties to the American Senate.
27:28He has his own theories behind the government´s attitude towards gangs like MS-13.
27:35Everybody will tell you that the cliquas are involved in drugs.
27:39They´re dealing with drugs or moving drugs.
27:43Well, there´s a problem with that.
27:45According to DEA, there´s a movement of 570 tons of cocaine that go through the...
27:53570 tons of cocaine.
27:58Pure cocaine.
28:00This is the pure cocaine.
28:01This could be worth 30,000 million dollars.
28:04The cliquas are not doing that.
28:07How can they?
28:09They won´t live the way they live if they were moving 570 tons of cocaine.
28:13In order for the big business to exist and move about in an efficient way is to have the ambiance, the society, have a lot of corruption.
28:24So it´s very useful to have cliquas at the bottom because it catches the attention of the press and it´s very flamboyant because of the tattoos.
28:35But the real story is the guys that move 570 tons.
28:40So who are they?
28:42Well, I would say some of the most powerful people in the region.
28:47I.e. the people in the government. Businessmen.
28:50Maybe, yes.
28:51So i.e. the biggest gang in the country is probably the government.
28:54They don´t wear tattoos.
28:56They don´t wear tattoos.
28:58They wear Rolex watches and they wear very expensive ties.
28:59And what you´re saying is it suits them to have a gang warfare going on because it acts as a smokescreen and takes everybody´s eye off the fact that what they´re actually doing is shipping this cocaine for the country.
29:14But if the corruption is so obvious, why doesn´t anybody do something about it?
29:21Fear.
29:23They kill you here.
29:24They can starve you to death.
29:25Or they can shoot you.
29:27Or you can have an attack done by one of the clickers.
29:31I mean, somebody can steal your purse in the street.
29:33Anybody.
29:34And can shoot you.
29:36This is a very casual country when it comes to violence.
29:39Very effective.
29:41According to Lionel, corruption is a huge problem in El Salvador and I´m inclined to believe him.
29:48Million dollar coke deals couldn´t be further away from the lives of gangsters like Chucho.
29:52For him, life is more about staying alive and providing for his wife and child, even if they are in prison.
30:00Well, with Chucho and his family, he´s come to see his wife Ingrid.
30:05She was arrested with him for possession of marijuana.
30:07But while she´s been in prison, not only has she had Chucho´s baby, but she´s also been accused, along with 13 other women, of murdering somebody inside prison.
30:15So I know she´s being held indefinitely inside.
30:19This is the first time that Chucho´s had an opportunity to see his daughter.
30:23So we´re going to watch you meet her for the first time.
30:26As a gang member, it´s far too dangerous for Chucho to use public transport.
30:35Not only would he have to travel through several 18-street territories, but he also runs the risk of being arrested under Mano Dura.
30:43Only by travelling with me could he and his family make this trip.
30:47How does it feel to see your daughter?
30:52Muy bien.
30:54Bueno.
30:56Me hace falta tenerla conmigo.
30:59A las dos. Me hace falta tenerla conmigo a las dos.
31:02This kind of, these things happening to you, does it ever make you question about being in the game?
31:06Yes.
31:07More than all, you know that one is the one who is the one who is doing these things.
31:15And for me, she has suffered a lot, both of them and the children.
31:21I would not have wanted that at any moment it was like this.
31:25Lastimously, it was like this.
31:27I will not return to this thing.
31:29Yes, because the problem is I, they don´t have nothing to do with it.
31:34But it´s not just Chucho´s wife and child who have suffered.
31:38His mother has also had to bear the pain of her son´s gang life.
31:43Can you tell me about your concerns for your son?
31:45Well, the fear that I have is that they give me something.
31:50They have been forgiven for three times, they have tried to kill me.
31:54A cousin also disappeared, who killed me for the same time.
31:58My son and my brother, who killed me for the same time.
32:03Well, that´s family life in MS-13.
32:17It´s quite heartwarming to see Chucho with his child for the first time.
32:21Also, you might think that most people would try to get out of here as soon as they got in here.
32:27However, Chucho is spending the night.
32:32Conjugal visits are the norm in El Salvadorian prisons.
32:35Chucho´s mom can only hope this overnight stay with his family may go some way in persuading him to find a life away from the gang.
32:43And no wonder, as the story is indeed tragic.
32:46If I doubted that, I was soon given a graphic example of what it must have been like for her to lose her brother and her son to gang violence.
32:54So far I´ve spent a week with MS-13, the gang the Americans dub the most dangerous in the world.
33:08There´s no denying they´re a violent group, but this is a country with few opportunities and the chips are heavily stacked against them.
33:15Under Manajura, the police have the powers to arrest anyone displaying gang tattoos.
33:21And having them makes getting a job near impossible.
33:25So for those few who want out, getting rid of these markings is a big incentive.
33:32We´ve come to the countryside to visit a government run project.
33:38Its aim is to rehabilitate female gang members.
33:42But the major incentive for most of the women coming here is the fact that it offers you the chance to remove your tattoos.
33:49This centre offers education and vocational training to both MS-13 and 18th Street female gang members.
33:57As well as a creche to look after their kids.
34:00It´s the first time I´ve seen the two gang enemies together since I´ve been here.
34:05So who´s MS here?
34:07And how many at 18th Street?
34:1118th Street, yeah. Thank you.
34:14So what was the attraction for you to join a gang?
34:17This, this... a me m'atran...me atrajo...
34:20Yes?
34:21...o see, that... queria ser igual que otras.
34:24Mi casa es bien diferente, porque yo no queria meterme en las pandillas.
34:29Pero a mà me agarraron a las fuerza.
34:32Saltaban en cima de mÃ...
34:33¿Cuanta gente te brincó?
34:3518 personas, eran.
34:3618...
34:37Hembras y varones.
34:38We hear that a lot of people get raped inside...
34:40the, the...theati, the...
34:43It´s the street.
34:44No, because if they don't want to stay hard, they ask for love and they pass the train, but no.
34:50What's the train?
34:51No.
34:52It's like one goes behind one, the other goes to the other.
34:56So the train is that one guy goes after another.
34:59That happens, is it a lot?
35:00Yes, yes, but it depends.
35:02It depends on who is going to be playing.
35:05They ask him the permission to be playing.
35:08If you want to, I don't.
35:10Do you have more respect if you go in by violence or if you go in by love?
35:15No, it's more respect if you do it by love.
35:19Because if you do it by love, then you're like a prostitute of the group.
35:24All right.
35:25The one thing I don't understand is what's a woman's role inside the gang?
35:30What we like to do is to respect us.
35:33To respect everyone.
35:37A mission in the group.
35:40It's the same thing that the men do, so, what, do you go and kill people?
35:54Yes.
35:55Yes.
35:57Look at you smiling like that.
35:59A mission is a mission.
36:02So if you're told to go and kill someone, you go and kill someone.
36:05Yes, because it's a mission.
36:08Have you done that?
36:08You have done it.
36:09You have done it?
36:10Yes.
36:10You have, yeah?
36:12I think it's all right.
36:15Yes.
36:17Sorry, we're laughing about killing someone here.
36:19It's quite good.
36:21Everyone here has been incredibly open with me, but this honesty has been somewhat chilling.
36:25These smiling, laughing girls have just admitted to murder.
36:32When I made the arrangements to visit these girls, they'd asked me to bring one thing.
36:38Makeup.
36:38It wasn't until one girl began to rub her face that I realized this heavy foundation had nothing to do with vanity.
36:45Can I ask her how old she was when she had that done to her face, or she did that to her face?
36:5217.
36:5417.
36:54Yes.
36:55And was it done as a punishment, or was it done because you wanted to have it done?
36:58It was a punishment.
36:59It was a punishment.
37:00I wanted to retire myself.
37:01I didn't want to be in this.
37:04So, they said you had this tattoo, or what about if you'd refuse to have the tattoo?
37:09You would have been killed.
37:16So, they put that on your face, so you knew that you'd be in danger everywhere you went.
37:27Well, that was the girls, um, uplifting, sort of depressing at the same time.
37:34The thing that staggers me is that, uh, an $18 bottle of makeup can save your life here,
37:38because if they go out with 18 or MS tattooed on their face, there's a good chance they could be killed.
37:44There were 12 girls in the course, so there were 14.
37:46One killed herself in a freak accident.
37:48The other one was shot only a week ago.
37:52The other amazing thing is that this is the only project of its kind in the whole of Central America.
37:59I'm on my way to see Chucho and his Kliqa one last time.
38:13But whilst driving, I'm given a stark reminder of the daily violence which occurs here.
38:18I arrive just as the coroner pulls up at the scene.
38:26The vehicle's just turned up, and it's got, um...
38:31It's got a dead body in the back of it already, and there are two, uh, other homicides just up where it's parked.
38:38But, you know, this is a thing that happens ten times a day here.
38:40As I endeavour to find out more information from the police, the mother of the victims arrives.
38:51There are two bodies up there.
38:53They're brothers.
38:54They were both shot because they refused to pay protection money to the gangs.
38:58They ran a bus route.
39:00Um, they refused to pay the money.
39:02So, uh, they've both been killed and dumped here.
39:07The thing that doesn't feel right is listening to the mother screaming for the death of her two sons.
39:14Um, feels wrong being here, really.
39:16But I have to say, I suppose, it's all part of us telling the story of what it's like to be a gang member
39:20or to be a victim of a gang member living in this place.
39:24Apparently, 18th Street are the main suspects.
39:26Either way, these two young boys have been murdered for nothing more than a few dollars.
39:37It's fair to say that some of the people I've met over the past few days are victims of some terrible circumstances.
39:43But it's also impossible for me to feel any kind of sympathy for the gangs, having witnessed this terrible scene for myself.
39:50I'm almost relieved to hear that MS-13 were not involved in this murder of two innocent bus operators.
40:00That's not to say that Chucho and his clica aren't connected in some way to the daily atrocities here in El Salvador.
40:07Because they are.
40:09I'm finding it increasingly hard to rationalize the violence I've seen.
40:13And a reason for these incessant killings still eludes me.
40:16The boys have brought me to Soyopango, another MS-13-controlled district and one of the most dangerous parts of San Salvador.
40:26Here are memorials to the dead, those who will not be forgotten.
40:32These are people who have been killed in action, yeah?
40:34And when these people are killed by other gangs, are their murders avenged?
40:49Claro.
40:54How do you know which person is pulled the trigger when one of your friends have died?
40:58Do you go out for that person specifically or is it anybody from the opposing gang?
41:02I mean, more than all, many times I've been looking for the same people who have done that, you understand?
41:10And at the same time, if they don't get killed, they get killed by other people.
41:16But doesn't that, you know, blood for blood all the time mean that there will never be an end?
41:21It's very difficult.
41:31We don't want it.
41:35We don't want it.
41:42Should we get out of the rain, guys?
41:44It's absolutely boring.
41:44Chucho's frank remarks are not about bravado.
41:51They are simply the truth.
41:54It's a straightforward philosophy.
41:56Kill or be killed.
41:58But whilst they're stood around, these boys are going to enjoy themselves.
42:07I have to say, stunning amount of Mary Jane, they call it, marijuana, these guys get through.
42:18Mary Jane.
42:19Mary Jane.
42:20I mean, we start very early in the morning, finish very late at night.
42:24And it's a continuous roll one, smoke one situation.
42:28And, you know, it's pure marijuana.
42:30There's no tobacco use.
42:33Mary Jane.
42:33My time with MS-13 is almost up.
42:45But with true Salvadorian hospitality, Chucho's family have invited me to dinner to say goodbye.
42:54Chucho, what do you think is the future for the clique here?
42:59What do you think the future holds for you and your family?
43:26Chucho, what's theiauist?
43:30You know, now I'm with them.
43:32Right now I'm not with them.
43:34But I'm just holding them up, because they're kept.
43:36Now, we're up.
43:38But, yes, my baby, they're from the outside, they're from the Pan because they're from me.
43:44These are just at least in the moment in that they're with me.
43:48Chucho, thank you very much.
44:13Having spent so much time with Chucho and his clicker,
44:16I find it hard to imagine these boys capable of the violence associated with MS-13.
44:23But it would seem they are.
44:26After I'd left the clicker for the final time,
44:29my sources informed me that Chucho may have been involved in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl,
44:35as well as the shooting of a rival gang member's sister.
44:39Whether these accusations are accurate or not, I don't know.
44:43But given everything I've witnessed during my journey through gangland El Salvador,
44:48I wouldn't be surprised at all.
44:53MS-13 are probably the most dangerous and violent gang I've ever met.
44:59They have a structure, but I seriously doubt they're the international crime organisation they're said to be.
45:04The Manidura has had little effect.
45:08The gangs seem to be as strong as ever, and the murder rate has gone up.
45:12It seems to me, unless there is some kind of economic or social change here,
45:17that was promised at the end of the civil war, but never delivered,
45:20then the rise of MS-13 and gangs like it will only continue.
45:24And so, with the violence and suffering.