of police internal affairs, stated that "we're at war" with the gangs. March 2015 marked the deadliest month in El Salvador since the end of the civil war in 1992 with 481 homicides being committed. This mark was later surpassed with 622 homicides in May 2015, then 677 homicides in June 2015, and 907 homicides in August 2015. On 25 August 2015, the Supreme Court declared that both MS-13 and Barrio 18 were officially designated as terrorist organizations, stating that they were responsible for "systematic attacks on the lives, security, and personal integrity of the population". Throughout 2015, the government recorded 6,657 homicides, the most the country had seen in a single year since 1983 for a homicide rate of 104 per 100,000 people. Additionally, the rise in homicides in 2014 and 2015 led to the revival of the Sombra Negra, a vigilante death squad with supposed police connections which targeted and killed gang members. Due to the sharp rise in homicides in 2015, El Salvador was frequently referred to as the "world's deadliest peacetime country". Legal proceedings Mauricio Funes In February 2016, the office of the Attorney General leaked recordings from gang members who alleged that Funes' government gave money, conjugal visits, and transfers to lower-security prisons to gang leaders in exchange for their participation in the truce. Funes denied that his government ever gave perks to gang leaders, stating "the only thing the government did was monitor this agreement through the mediators". He also questioned the validity of the allegations, claiming that as the allegations came from gang members, they were only seeking to shorten their sentences in exchange for making allegations against Funes. Funes left the country in June 2016 and travelled to Nicaragua. He claimed to have left because he was working as a consultant. In August 2016, his properties were raided by Salvadoran authorities who were searching for evidence to charge Funes with charges of embezzlement, illicit negotiations, misuse of funds, illicit enrichment, and influence-trafficking. In September 2016, he and his family were granted asylum by the Nicaraguan government, which said the reason for granting him asylum was a result of Funes "fighting in favor of democracy, peace, justice and human rights". Funes denied all the allegations against him, stating, "asylum only seeks to guarantee protection from persecution [...] I have not given up on confronting the judicial process nor proving my innocence". On 12