El Salvador's horrific wave of gang war-related deaths has engulfed the entire country, prompting a state of emergency.
According to the international media, in view of the increasing number of assassination attempts by the gangs, the Congress had approved the request of President Naib Bokel to declare a state of emergency in the country.
El Salvador killed 14 people last Friday and 62 on Saturday, compared to 79 in February. The country has not seen such a large number of murders in years.
National police say they have arrested five ringleaders of Mara Salvatrusha (MS-13), who they claim had issued several murder orders to gang members. The killings are linked to the country's notorious gangs that control much of the capital, San Salvador.
Bokel has blamed the opposition for opposing the emergency decision on his social media accounts. The president asked if the opposition was opposing the emergency decision in defense of the gang members.
"We must remind the people of El Salvador that what is happening now is due to the negligence of those who protected the criminals," the opposition Conservative Party Arena said in a statement.