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The government has accused the gang-mandated transit strike of being linked to right-wing destabilization efforts against the government.
Salvadoran authorities have captured a key gang leader behind the country's forced transportation strike, as the death toll of transport workers at the hands of gang members climbed to nine on Wednesday as thousands of commuters were affected on the third day of the ongoing strike.
Authorities detained one of the heads of Barrio 18, one of El Salvador's two most powerful gangs, on Tuesday night, after government officials accused Barrio 18 of being a major force behind the transportation strike that began Monday.
RELATED: El Salvador Government: Strike is Part of Right-Wing Offensive
But the left-wing FMLN government has also slammed the transportation strike, fomented by gang violence, as being part of a larger right-wing destabilization campaign against the government, which has also included attempts by the right-wing ARENA party to sow division in the Armed Forces and protests by small groups of soldiers and right-wing civil society groups.
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Paro de transporte público no detiene a la población salvadoreña #PorMiPaís #FAESPorMiPaís Foto: @DiarioCoLatino pic.twitter.com/1BJ6zKWCFl
— MinisteriodeDefensa (@MDefensa_SV)
July 29, 2015
“Public transportation strike does not stop the Salvadoran population.”
“It all makes you think that they are in fact allied with organized crime to affect the population,” said FMLN party member Jorge Schafik Handal in an interview with teleSUR.
RELATED: Government of El Salvador Warns Against 'Movement for a Coup'
El Salvador's most powerful gangs forced bus drivers and other public transport workers to go on strike Monday in a violent campaign to pressure the government to negotiate with organized crime groups in search of reduced punishment for gang members.
But the government of President Salvador Sanchez Ceren has repeatedly refused to entertain a dialgoue with gangs, a position again reiterated since the start of the strike.
#ElPuebloNOseDoblega Nuestro gobierno no negocia con grupos criminales. pic.twitter.com/Ey9sx2lJ7v
— Casa Presidencial (@presidencia_sv)
July 29, 2015
“Our government does not negotiate with criminal groups.”
Gangs killed at least five transport workers to instigate the strike on Monday, threatening more violence against bus drivers and other service operators who failed to comply with the gang-mandated strike. On Wednesday, the number of murders of rose to nine transport workers.
In light of the violence and ongoing chaos of three days without public transportation impacting thousands mostly in the capital city of San Salvador, the government said it was prepared to deploy the military to guarantee security in the streets.
<> @PNC_SV refuerza seguridad a nivel nacional. pic.twitter.com/HHGeEXZv6O
— PNC El Salvador (@PNC_SV)
July 29, 2015
“Working to strengthen security at a national level.”
Hundreds of commuters have found alternative means of transportation, while the transport sector suffers losses of US$500,000 per day and thousands of drivers go without pay, according to a Salvadoran transport driver and rider association.
RELATED: Salvadoran Officials Investigate Suspected Government-Gang Pact
El Salvador is home to some of the highest murder rates in Latin America, and authorities link the majority of murders to gang violence.
The country recorded 677 homicides in June alone, one of the most violent months on record since over a decade of civil war came to an end in 1992. But with deep corruption and impunity, less than 5 percent of murders result in a conviction.
