El Salvador Gangs

Daily Life, third prize stories

August 16, 2012

San Salvador, El Salvador Members of the Barrio 18 street gang look out from behind prison bars.   Large-scale gang warfare has made El Salvador one of the most violent countries in the Americas. But on 9 March, leaders of the country’s two most powerful gangs agreed a truce, saying that the situation was getting out of hand, especially when it came to youth in their own communities. The leaders of Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha-13 pledged to put a brake on violence and to stop recruiting adolescent members. The government agreed to transfer 30 prisoners held in maximum-security jails to less restrictive institutions. The truce appeared to have some success. Homicides in the first part of the year were down 32 percent, and kidnappings dropped by half. On 14 April, El Salvador recorded its first day in three years without a murder.

Commissioned by: for The New York Times

Photo Credit: Tomas Munita

Tomás Munita, born in 1975, is a freelance documentary photographer with a primary interest in social and environmental issues.

He has won several awards, including 4 World Press Photo awards, Leica’s Oskar Barnack, Visa D’or Daily News, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, All Rodas, Henri Nannen, 2nd Photographer of the Year (POYi), Chris Hondros, ICP Young Photographer Award and Latin American Photographer of the Year (PoyLatam).

He works regularly for The New York Times.