Wide Angle: 18 With A Bullet

18 With A Bullet captures the reality of life for the young members of the 18th Street Gang in San Salvador, now one of the most dangerous cities in the world. During the civil war in San Salvador, thousands of families migrated to America. Most of these settled in Los Angeles where many joined the notorious 18th Street Gang. Since the end of the war most have been deported back to San Salvador, taking their gang structures back to their homeland with devastating effects. This series follows a group of gang members as they fight their mortal enemies and eke out a living on the streets by selling drugs and thieving. About San Salvador San Salvador is the capital city of El Salvador, the most densely populated state on the mainland of the Americas and the most industrialised in Central America. A tiny country, El Salvador, which is Spanish for "the saviour" - or Jesus Christ - has been wracked by violence and a succession of natural disasters which have left its people physically devastated and psychologically traumatised. During the 1980s, El Salvador was ravaged by a bitter civil war. This was the result of gross inequality between a small and wealthy elite, which dominated the government and the economy, and the overwhelming majority of the population, many of whom lived (and continue to live) in abject squalor. The war left around 70,000 people dead and caused damage worth 2 billion dollars. The social dislocations caused by poverty, war and natural disasters have made El Salvador one of the most violent and crime-ridden societies in the Americas. In 18 With a Bullet, we get up close and personal to see how the brutality and lack of hope has affected the lives of a group of young men.