and Barrio 18 confirmed that a truce between them and the government existed. The Salvadoran government denied negotiating a deal with the gangs to decrease homicide rates in exchange for better prison conditions. In a press conference, Funes denied that the government ever held negotiations with the gangs, stating "the government did not sit down to negotiate with gangs". He did, however, state that the government supported the agreement between the gangs and the Church. He added that the transfer of prisoners was "not illegal" and that those being transferred did not receive "preferential treatment" at their new prison. Minister of Public Security David Munguía Payés also denied the allegations, saying "I want the following statement to be loud and clear [...] the government of the republic is not at any time negotiating with any gang". He said that the prisoners were moved because of the Church's appeals on humanitarian grounds, that they were attempting to escape from the prisons, and that they had already served their required ten-year sentence in a maximum-security prison. Police officials denied the allegations of a truce, claiming that the reduce in homicides were a result of "improved coordination and intelligence". Continued negotiations In April 2012, the Church announced that it was continuing further negotiations with the gangs to reduce extortion. Munguía stated that the government was willing to facilitate the negotiations but not participate in them, saying that "the government cannot sit down to negotiate with criminal groups". He also stated that any concessions from the government would be "within the scope of the law", such as allowing gang members to be visited by their children and increasing the allowed time for visitations. He added, however, that the government was ready to return to stricter anti-gang measures if the negotiations collapsed. After the truce's first month, Munguía acknowledged that it existed, saying "I think that this pact between gangs still has not yet been totally fulfilled, and I think it will be difficult to fulfill to perfection [...] there are also other gangs who haven't agreed to the pact, and there are still internal problems inside these gangs". Nevertheless, he claimed that the decrease in violence was a result of improved police operations and better government security strategy. In mid-April 2012, the government announced a plan to allow tens of thousands of imprisoned gang members to find employment opportunities after being released; the plan