excerpt from the NYTimes report by Maria Abi-Habib and Bryan Avelar

[....] The violence threatens to tarnish the record of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s charismatic young leader, whose approval ratings are some of the highest in the world, hovering around 85 percent. Mr. Bukele, 40, campaigned on the promise of bringing law and order to El Salvador’s streets, some of the world’s most violent, and since taking office nearly three years ago he had seemed to be making good on that pledge.

However, the reduction in violence may not have been the fruit of Mr. Bukele’s security policies, but of a clandestine deal between the government and the gangs that was apparently cobbled together shortly after he was elected president, as was first revealed by the media outlet El Faro in September 2020.

In December, the U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions on top Salvadoran officials, including the vice minister of justice and public security, for their roles negotiating “a secret truce with gang leadership.”

Mr. Bukele has denied those accusations and has championed his tough approach as the reason homicides have fallen dramatically.

Now, analysts and an American official say, that agreement may be falling apart.

Under these secret negotiations, according to the Treasury Department, the government provided financial incentives to the gangs and preferential treatment for gang leaders in prison, such as access to mobile phones and prostitutes. In exchange, the gangs apparently promised to cut down on gang violence and homicides.

Mr. Bukele is the latest in a long string of Salvadoran presidents accused of negotiating with gangs and giving them incentives to keep the peace. The tactic has been used by successive governments to win elections and appeal to a population that is tired of the never-ending violence.

A resident in the capital, San Salvador, said he woke up Saturday to an explosion of gang activity, shouts, gunshots and violence after having enjoyed a few years of relative peace since Mr. Bukele was elected in 2019.

His neighbor, a young man, was killed Saturday morning as he went out to buy bread for his family in their neighborhood, controlled by MS-13. On Sunday, soldiers and police officers swarmed the area, restoring order.

“This is always the case: Homicides rise and operations are strong and soldiers walk in” after the violence is over, said Marvin, 34, who asked that his last name not be published since he lives in a gang-controlled neighborhood [....]

Meanwhile in Honduras  :