Gangs provide FMLN with lethal political muscle

Many of the Salvadoran gangs plaguing both El Salvador and the United States find their origins in the FMLN from its guerrilla days.

What many people don't know is that the FMLN has been using the gangs inside El Salvador as political muscle for the 2009 presidential campaign.

The Salvadoran press has been reporting it for a long time, and some FMLN people have come forward with complaints. The ARENA party has even made political ads about the problem, as this Spanish-language video shows.