News Digest

14 inmates killed in gang’s ‘act of purification’ inside El Salvador prison

At least 14 inmates were killed in an El Salvador jail when violence erupted between two factions of a notorious gang. The killings at Quezaltepeque prison, about 30km (20 miles) north of the capital San Salvador, were linked to an internal dispute involving the feared Barrio 18 gang. The prison was placed on lockdown and security ramped up, as about 50 people with relatives in the jail descended on the facility, some weeping and others demanding to know the identities of the dead. A state of emergency was declared for 72 hours at the jail and authorities insisted that they were in full control of the situation.

It’s presumed to be an act of purification among gang members

Director general of prisons

The correctional facility held about 1,000 inmates, who authorities said were all members of the Barrio 18 gang. Prison officials were alerted when some members of the Revolutionaries faction of the gang failed to return to their cells, said Eugenio Chicas, the communications secretary for the presidency. Security agents and riot police found their bodies among some garbage bins, added Chicas, labeling it “a purge.”