On November 2nd, many Salvadorians celebrated the sacred Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday in their native country. Because El Salvador had one of the highest murder rates in the world, the yearly tradition that is reserved for loved ones who have passed away is all the more delicate. Nevertheless, this year a group of Salvadorian inmates were ordered to enter numerous cemeteries in the nation's capital (San Salvador) and nearby Colón to destroy tombstones belonging to deceased gang members. According to the mayor of San Salvador, Mario Durán, the inmate workers dismantled approximately 80 tombstones. The inmate workers were equipped with sledgehammers and crowbars to carry out their tasks. Their primary targets were the burial sites of one of the most feared gangs in the world Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). According to El Salvador's Deputy Minister of Justice and Penal Centers, Osiris Luna Meza, the stringent initiative was justifiable, even if it came during a time of remembrance for the deceased.
"No terrorist deserves any recognition," Meza said. "We destroy all traces of these groups. In this country, gangs no longer have a place."
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Source: Seattle Pi
