‘Each day is agony’: the lives swept up in El Salvador’s mass arrests

A policeman searches bus passengers near the area where three police officers were killed by alleged gang members, in Santa Ana, El Salvador, on Wednesday. Photograph: José Cabezas/Reuters

For Nelson Moz, an affable gangland preacher from El Salvador’s violence-scarred capital, it should have been a day to rejoice.

“It’s an honour to be the pastor here – it’s a privilege!” the church leader told worshipers as they filled the Ebenezer Baptist church one Sunday morning last month to celebrate the denomination’s 35th birthday.