El Salvador cops find MS-13 gang member hiding in coffin during attempt to flee into Guatemala

A fugitive MS-13 member was found hiding inside a coffin as his two cohorts were attempting to smuggle him from El Salvador into Guatemala.

Cops patrolling a highway in the western city of Santa Ana on Tuesday became suspicious of the casket sitting over the car's roof and pulled over the driver for an inspection just 12 miles from the Guatemalan border.

The agents searched the vehicle and proceeded to open the casket where they found Alexander Hernández lying covered by a white sheet inside the box.

MS-13 gangbangers, Walter Zelaya and Rafael Juárez, who were transporting Hernández, were also taken into custody.

Alexander Hernández, a member of the MS-13 gang, was arrested Tuesday in Santa Ana, El Salvador after police found him hiding in a coffin that was tied to the roof of a car. He and two other gang members had allegedly killed a man recently and were escaping to Guatemala when police stopped their vehicle for an inspection

Police in Santa Ana, El Salvador, were surprised Tuesday when they discovered a MS-13 gang member hiding inside a casket. The suspect and two other men were fleeing to Guatemala after reportedly killing a man in the city of Usulután

All three men were identified as alleged participants in the killing of an individual in the southeastern Salvadoran city of Usulután, local media outlets reported.

'These cowardly terrorists are exhausting their hideouts and their ways to want to escape justice,' El Salvador Security Minister, Gustavo Villatoro, tweeted. 'This gang member was found being transported inside a coffin at a (traffic stop).'

Their arrest is part of an all-out effort by President Nayib Bukele's administration to combat gang violence as homicides decreased by 56.8% in 2022.

Police registered 496 murders last year compared with 1,147 in 2021. The 2022 totals would spike up to 600 if the deaths of gang members were also tallied.

The Bukele administration did not provide a homicide rate but it was still a significant decrease from a peak of 103 killings per 100,000 residents in 2015, according to government data.

Two MS-13 gang members were traveling in a car with a casket tied to the top of its roof when police pulled them over for an inspection in El Salvador on Tuesday

Cops were shocked when they found another gang member hiding in the coffin. All three men were taken into arrest for their alleged role in the recent murder of an individual

President Bukele asked Congress to approve a temporary state of emergency after a surge in violence in March, suspending certain constitutional rights in order to combat the notorious Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs.

The controversial measure, which has been extended numerous times and remains in effect, set off a militarized offensive that has led to over 60,000 arrests of alleged gang affiliates.

Rights groups have raised questions about alleged abuses during the state of emergency, including possible arrests of innocent people and cover-ups of deaths of detainees in state custody.

'The reduction in homicides is a result of the state of exception, because that number of criminals is no longer on the streets harming the population,' Defense Minister Francis Merino said.

Polls show a majority of Salvadorans approve of the crackdown, which has set up a military presence in neighborhoods considered at high risk of gang violence.