French filmmaker who made documentary on gangs is killed in El Salvador

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Christian Poveda, a French filmmaker and photographer who recently made a documentary about the Mara gangs in El Salvador, was shot dead Wednesday in Tonacatepeque, a rural region north of the capital, police said. He had been shot in the head, reports the Associated Press.

His documentary, ‘La Vida Loca,’ which we covered here on La Plaza, showed the hopelessness of life for the thousands of gang members living in El Salvador.

Poveda was a strong critic of policies used by the governments of El Salvador and the U.S., which he saw as having strengthened the gang networks.He described the members of the violent gangs that he filmed as ‘victims of society.’

He spent 16 months shooting the film in San Salvador, and said during an interview with La Plaza this year, “I knew right from the start that I couldn’t film just one character.’

“Firstly, they get bored after a couple of months and don’t want to be filmed anymore. Or two, they get put in jail, or they get killed.”

We’ll be bringing you more on this story, but meanwhile you can watch Poveda talk about ‘La Vida Loca’ in an interview in April.

** Updated: Read our full report on this story here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City