Background information
The second volume by London based photographer Tariq ZAIDI, 'Sin Salida' (No Way Out), documents the impacts of 'Mara Salvatrucha' (MS-13) gang and its rival 'Barrio 18' on El Salvador. 'Kill, rape, control' is the motto of the notorious MS-13. The street gang, along with its rival has become infamous across Central and North America for its brutal violence and deep control of communities. Particularly well established in El Salvador, both gangs have developed extensive and sophisticated networks of extortion and domination across the region. Photographer Tariq ZAIDI spent three years documenting and travelling across El Salvador with unprecedented access to prisons and holding cells across the country providing a rare look inside the country’s penal system. With the help of the police force, was also able to document the state’s war against the gangs.
Content
By depicting the gang members, police, murder sites, funerals, and the governments war against the gangs, Tariq ZAIDI illustrates in his photo book 'Sin Salida' the control the gangs have over the wider Salvadoran society, the violence through which they operate and the grief and loss resulting from the violence.