in a process of vengeance and territorial control". He began to distance the government from the truce, stating "I have never mentioned a truce. [The gangs] decide the details of the truce, only they know how things are. We, the authorities, do not get involved in this; we restrict ourselves to enforcing the law and stopping violence". Perdomo also believed that the gangs planned to increase homicides in December 2012, which the gangs denied as they accused the government of wanting to return to the old Mano Dura policies. On 3 March 2014, with 484 homicides being recorded between 1 January and 1 March 2014 (or 8 homicides per day), and with 60 to 70 percent of them being committed by gang members, Rigoberto Pleités, the director of the National Civil Police, announced that "the truce technically no longer exists, given the increase in homicides in the past months". On 26 April 2014, four days before the end of his term as president, Funes stated that Barrio 18 had "decided to break the truce". Funes admitted that "the truce has failed, not only because of the decision of those who agreed to it; it is because a state of opinion contrary to it was created; with this, I am not saying that the truce was necessary or the only option". The country at this time averaged 14 homicides per day. Criticism Journalists Shortly after the truce was announced, Elyssa Pachico and Steven Dudley, two writers for InSight Crime, stated that the gang truce set a "dangerous regional precedent". They stated that truces only lead to a temporary decrease in violence and are difficult to maintain or transform into a long-term solution. They added that the truce emboldened the gangs' political power and that they "may seek to further upset the delicate balance between justice and peace by demanding more concessions [...] this balance may have already tilted too far in the favor [of the] gangs". Others have stated that the truce gave gangs political leverage. In March 2013, El Faro writer José Luis Sanz criticized the truce as violating the Anti-Gang Law, as any negotiations or dealings with gangs violates the law. He also added that 22 mayors across the country have contracted gang members to carry out public works projects, such as resurfacing paved roads, which he argued also violated the law. Religious figures On 6 March 2013, Spanish