Six 'highly dangerous' gang members escape from El Salvador jail

[IceWizard]

Sun Aug 2, 2015 3:54pm EDT

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -
Six incarcerated gang members escaped from an El Salvador jail on Sunday after prying open the bars of their cell, security officials said.

The fugitives are members of the lesser-known
Mirada Loca gang and are considered "highly
dangerous."

The jail break took place at a facility in the city
of San Miguel, 96 miles (154 km) southeast of
the capital San Salvador, just a couple days
after bus drivers ended a four-day work
stoppage following deadly gang violence that
forced them off the roads.

Transport in the violent Central American country ground to a halt early last week after threats from a faction of the larger Barrio 18 gang led to shootings that killed nine people, nearly all of them bus drivers, the government said.

Officials said the rival Mara Salvatrucha gang
was also involved. Gang turf wars have helped make El Salvador one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas.

During the first five months of the year, murders in the country jumped 50 percent compared with 2014, with the violence largely blamed on fighting between the gangs.


(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Editing by
Sandra Maler)