Alex Sanchez on El Salvador Gangs Targeted By Government Death Squad, The Black Shadow (Part 8)

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Alex Sanchez, former MS-13 member, sheds light on the brutal tactics used against gangs in El Salvador, specifically the notorious government-backed death squad known as "La Sombra Negra" (The Black Shadow). Sanchez recounts how, in the post-civil war era, gang members lacked resources and were loosely organized, contradicting claims that MS-13 was heavily involved in arms trafficking early on. Instead, crime and gang business grew later as political and criminal interests exploited them. Sanchez exposes how the wealthy and political elites, threatened by rising crime affecting investments, hired former military mercenaries trained by the U.S.-backed School of the Americas to form La Sombra Negra. This death squad openly threatened gang members with execution if they didn’t disband, employing ruthless tactics like kidnappings and public killings to instill fear. Sanchez himself was on their hit list, forcing him to heavily arm himself for protection.