The MS13 and the Pentecostal Church are two worlds seemingly at odds. Yet they both demand rigid discipline and utter devotion, and often condone gender-based violence.  Here, we contrast the experiences of Elvis and Flaca, one man and one woman, who managed to escape the gang into the arms of the Church. However, their criminal past continues to dog them, especially as El Salvador’s current crackdown targets anyone with a connection to the MS13.  

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Amid mass gang arrests in El Salvador, the already frayed threads holding poor families together are being cut. Fathers and sons disappear in overcrowded prisons. Single mothers swept up in the dragnet are leaving children behind.

Former gang members who have taken difficult steps to exit the Barrio 18 and MS13, and teenage boys on the margins of gang life, are also finding themselves behind bars. Since emergency powers came into effect at the end of March, more than 40,000 people have been arrested, according to the country's security officials.

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