The State Department says it's imposing sanctions on two former Salvadoran presidents and dozens of other officials and judges in Central America.

Allegations from the U.S. government that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s administration negotiated with the country’s powerful street gangs touched a sensitive topic.

A judge in El Salvador has ordered the pre-trial arrest of 10 former government officials, including ex-President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, on corruption charges.

Prosecutors in El Salvador have issued an arrest warrant for former president Salvador Sánchez Cerén on charges of embezzlement and money laundering.

Saúl Meléndez was a guerrilla fighter during El Salvador’s civil war.

Imprisoned gang members, wearing protective face masks, look out from behind bars during a media tour of the prison in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. President Nayib Bukele denied a report Friday that his government has been negotiating with one of the countrys most powerful gangs to lower the murder rate and win their support in mid-term elections in exchange for prison privileges. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Still, experts warn that the popular president’s harsh move could backfire, unite the country’s powerful gangs against his government and return El Salvador to the days when it was one of the world’s deadliest countries. The hyper-violent gangs started in Southern California and then took hold when members were deported, inserting themselves into everyday life. In response, Bukele circulated photos of tattooed, nearly naked gang members marched into prison yards and made to sit so closely they were touching. He called on human rights defenders to protect their incarcerated members and said they weren’t responsible for the surge in murders. When a gang truce fell apart under the administration of President Mauricio Funes, El Salvador became one of the world’s deadliest countries with 6,657 murders in 2015 or 104 per 100,000 residents.