SANTA TECLA, EL SALVADOR – Some sixty tombstones containing references to the Mara Salvatrucha were destroyed in one of the largest cemeteries in El Salvador, ahead of All Souls’ Day, celebrated on November 2 in the Central American country.
Dozens of prisoners in the confidence phase were taken to the municipal cemetery of Santa Tecla, in the department of La Libertad, to demolish the tombstones and remove the debris from the cemetery.
Osiris Luna, director of Penal Centers, explained via Twitter that gang members “honored and placed flowers” on the graves of their members, but that no “terrorist deserves any recognition.” The measure was applauded by the mayor of the city.
The destroyed plates had identified the name of the deceased person, his alias in the gang and the date of his death.
In 2015, the Constitutional Chamber in El Salvador declared the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs as terrorist groups responsible for attacks against the life, security and integrity of the Salvadoran population.
In Photos | The Salvadoran government destroys tombstones of gang members to prevent them from honoring them
Authorities demolished tombstones with gang markings at a cemetery in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, to prevent criminals from being honored during Day of the Dead. [Fotos: Cortesía del Gobierno de El Salvador]
Although the Mara Salvatrucha has a presence in several countries, including the United States, where it is known as MS-13, it has been rooted in El Salvador for decades.
Today, the heavy-handed policy of the Nayib Bukele government seeks to eradicate them through an exception regime which has been in force for seven months and whose purpose is to imprison 70,000 suspected gang members or gang collaborators. To date, the captures amount to 55,000.
All Souls Day
On November 2, the Day of the Dead is celebrated in El Salvador, a tradition that brings together Salvadoran families in cemeteries to clean and adorn the graves of their dead.
Some clean the tombs with lime and others paint and varnish them. They are also decorated with paper or natural flowers.
November 2 is a national holiday in the Central American country.
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