Gang members are burning their tattoos so they can avoid arrest, El Salvador's president, Naguib Boukele, whose government has launched a campaign against organized crime in which authorities say they have arrested more than 20.000 criminals in the last month.
"Until recently, gang members proudly flaunted their tattoos, which gave them a status, an identity, a rank, and served to terrify their victims. Now, they burn their bodies to try to hide them," the head of state said via Twitter. He uploaded photos of three alleged gang members who appear to have burns, unhealed or healing, on parts of their skin where they had tattoos.
One of them, with burns over most of his chest, is Luis Alberto Setino Mata, known as "Sayahin," according to police. Two other arrestees, pictured in the photos uploaded by Mr. Boukele, have minor burns where they were tattooed. "They will grow old in prison. There is no statute of limitations on their crimes," Mr. Bouquele added.
Mr. Bukele declared "war" on gangs after a spate of 87 killings from March 25 to March 27, which his government attributed to members of the maras.
According to law enforcement figures, 20 have been arrested.290 gang members by police and military officers since the large-scale operation against the gangs began on March 26; a number unprecedented in the last thirty years in the small Central American country of 6.5 million people.
The gangs, the most notorious of which are Mara Salvatroucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18, count some 70,000 members, about half of whom are now in prison, according to authorities.
El Salvador's 40-year-old president, in power since 2019, enjoys high popularity, largely thanks to his promises to crack down on crime. But his penchant for authoritarianism has drawn criticism from political opponents, NGOs and the international community, who say it undermines democracy.
His government has also been accused of striking deals with the two largest gangs in the recent past, offering their leaders better prison conditions, money and other benefits if they reduced violence and supported Buquele's party. The president and other officials have repeatedly denied these allegations, despite a series of revealing press reports.
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