Death in San Salvador

Death in San Salvador

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William Hernandez, tired and aching, had just finished a 24-hour shift as a coroner examining more than a dozen corpses in the capital of El Salvador, victims of gang warfare that has made the Central American country one of the most violent in the world.

In more than 20 years at the National Forensics Institute, Hernandez has never dealt with so many violent deaths nor seen attacks as vicious in San Salvador, he said.

. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

"There have always been violent deaths, but not like now. The increase has been incredible," he said.

"If you had one or two shots before, it's now between 15 and 30. The last body I examined had 42 entry and exit wounds."

. Soyapango, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas
The body of a dead man was found after he was shot by alleged gang members.

Violence has risen steadily in El Salvador since a 2012 truce between the country's two main gangs began to fall apart in 2014.

Last year was the most violent on record, with a 70 percent increase in murders from the previous year and a surge in attacks by street gangs, said a civil servant.

. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas
Antonio Jimenez Patrix, who was selling bananas in the Central Market, was shot dead because the owner of the stall refused to pay extortion money, according to local media.

The number of homicides reached an estimated 6,650 in 2015, from 3,912 the year before, said Miguel Fortin Magana, director until 31 December of the National Forensics Institute of El Salvador.

"It's a real pandemic," he said.

. Ciudad Delgado, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

The homicide rate is more than 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, making the country of 6.4 million among the most violent in the world, according to Insight Crime, a foundation that analyses organized crime.

"That figure is extremely alarming," said Fortin Magana.

. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas
A police officer arrests a woman on suspicion of collaborating with the 18th Street gang.

El Salvador is racked by drug-fuelled violence, with entire city neighbourhoods controlled by powerful street gangs known as maras.

. Soyapango, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas
Suspects are arrested after a police officer and his son were killed at a basketball court by alleged members of the 18th Street gang.

In 2015, 62 police and 24 members of the armed forces died in clashes with the gangs. The violence has also prompted women and children to emigrate to the United States.

. Panchimalco, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

The current level of violence is even higher than the average annual loss of life during the 1980-92 civil war. An estimated 75,000 people were killed and 8,000 disappeared.

The price of the violence is not only paid in the loss of life.

. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas
The remains of an unidentified person are arranged on a table in the forensic anthropology department of the Forensics Institute.

High levels of violence and insecurity cost the Salvadoran state $2.85 billion in 2014, or 11 percent of the country's GDP, said Oscar Cabrera, president of the country's central bank.

"That cost is too high," he said. "That is (money) you could devote to investment, schools, infrastructure projects."

(Writing by Brian McGee)

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Slideshow

A police officer takes down a yellow police tape at a crime scene.
. Soyapango, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A police officer takes down a yellow police tape at a crime scene.

Family members react as forensic technicians and police officers retrieve the dead body of Roberta Urbina after she was killed by alleged gang members.
. Cuscatancingo, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Family members react as forensic technicians and police officers retrieve the dead body of Roberta Urbina after she was killed by alleged gang members.

A plain-clothes police officer stands guard at a crime scene where a man was shot dead at La Tiendona Market.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A plain-clothes police officer stands guard at a crime scene where a man was shot dead at La Tiendona Market.

Sellers pack up their produce as police investigators secure a crime scene. Miguel Angel Acevedo was killed by suspected gang members as he was selling potatoes at La Tiendona market, according to local media.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Sellers pack up their produce as police investigators secure a crime scene. Miguel Angel Acevedo was killed by suspected gang members as he was selling potatoes at La Tiendona market, according to local media.

The feet of the dead body of a man are seen underneath a tree.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

The feet of the dead body of a man are seen underneath a tree.

A ball lies on top of a police cordon at a crime scene where a woman was shot dead at a car wash.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A ball lies on top of a police cordon at a crime scene where a woman was shot dead at a car wash.

A boy aims with a toy gun in the Concepcion neighbourhood.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A boy aims with a toy gun in the Concepcion neighbourhood.

Police officers and soldiers patrol a neighbourhood.
. San Marcos, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Police officers and soldiers patrol a neighbourhood.

Forensic technicians carry the dead body of Lester Ventura. He and his father were shot while riding in their car.
. Ayutuxtepeque, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Forensic technicians carry the dead body of Lester Ventura. He and his father were shot while riding in their car.

A police officer carries an umbrella while working at a crime scene where a man and his son were shot dead in their car.
. Ayutuxtepeque, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A police officer carries an umbrella while working at a crime scene where a man and his son were shot dead in their car.

Members of the Green Cross put the dead body of a man on a stretcher while retrieving him from the shores of the Acelhuate river.
. Ciudad Delgado, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Members of the Green Cross put the dead body of a man on a stretcher while retrieving him from the shores of the Acelhuate river.

A woman tries to cover up blood where her nephew Julio Eduardo Henriquez was killed by suspected 18th Street gang members in the Lomas de Candelaria neighbourhood.
. San Marcos, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A woman tries to cover up blood where her nephew Julio Eduardo Henriquez was killed by suspected 18th Street gang members in the Lomas de Candelaria neighbourhood.

A police officer stands outside a hut as he and fellow officers search for gang members after a police unit on patrol was attacked.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A police officer stands outside a hut as he and fellow officers search for gang members after a police unit on patrol was attacked.

People wait to be transported to a detention facility after they were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with street gangs.
. Apopa, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

People wait to be transported to a detention facility after they were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with street gangs.

Suspects are arrested after a police officer and his son were killed at a basketball court by alleged members of the 18th Street gang.
. Soyapango, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Suspects are arrested after a police officer and his son were killed at a basketball court by alleged members of the 18th Street gang.

A corpse in a body bag lies on a road after it was found by police patrolling the area.
. Ayutuxtepeque, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A corpse in a body bag lies on a road after it was found by police patrolling the area.

A man looks on as forensic technicians and police officers work at a crime scene where the dead body of his father was found.
. Panchimalco, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A man looks on as forensic technicians and police officers work at a crime scene where the dead body of his father was found.

A police officer and a forensic technician put a man, who was killed by suspected gang members, in a bodybag.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A police officer and a forensic technician put a man, who was killed by suspected gang members, in a bodybag.

A bloodstained bed sheet used by forensic technicians to wrap the body of Alexander Edenilson Escamilla, an alleged member of the MS-13 street gang, is seen on the back of a pick-up truck.
. Nejapa, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A bloodstained bed sheet used by forensic technicians to wrap the body of Alexander Edenilson Escamilla, an alleged member of the MS-13 street gang, is seen on the back of a pick-up truck.

The body of a crime victim is seen during an autopsy at the morgue of the Forensics Institute.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

The body of a crime victim is seen during an autopsy at the morgue of the Forensics Institute.

Clothes relating to homicide cases are kept in a drying machine to be examined by technicians at the Forensics Institute.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

Clothes relating to homicide cases are kept in a drying machine to be examined by technicians at the Forensics Institute.

A technician makes notes while performing an autopsy on a crime victim in the morgue of the Forensics Institute.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. Reuters/Jose Cabezas

A technician makes notes while performing an autopsy on a crime victim in the morgue of the Forensics Institute.