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Guatemala expels alleged Barrio 18 gang member from El Salvador

Guatemala City, Sep 20 (Prensa Latina) Guatemala's National Civil Police (PNC) reported the expulsion of an alleged Barrio 18 gang member from El Salvador, following his handover by Mexican authorities in the department of San Marcos.

  The agency stated that its investigators located Jose Erwin Wilberto, 36—alias “El Muerto” and holding the rank of “homeboy”—who faces outstanding legal charges in the neighboring country.

  The individual was located in Mexico, where he was illegally living; he was subsequently taken into custody, as there is an active arrest warrant against him for aggravated homicide and escape from custody.

  Similar action was taken regarding Jose Alfonso Escalante, 29—alias “El Gemelo” and an alleged member of Mara Salvatrucha—and Victor, 28—alias “Escorpion,” a hitman.  

  By the end of June, the PNC had expelled 27 alleged members of Salvadoran gangs as part of an operation aimed at curbing the expansion of transnational criminal networks and strengthening regional security.

  Law enforcement officers detained 93 individuals with irregular immigration status in 2025 as part of the ongoing fight against crime; of these, 46 were handed over directly, while 47 remained incarcerated in the country.

  After the Nayib Bukele administration in El Salvador launched the state of exception (a “war” on gangs) in June 2022, a significant number of members of these criminal groups fled to other countries, mainly to Guatemala and southern Mexico.

jdt/car/znc

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