Carlos Mojica, the founder and longtime leader of the violent Central American gang Barrio 18, has died in a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The government announced on Thursday that the feared boss, known as 'El Viejo Lin' or Old Man Lin, died from liver complications.
Mojica had been incarcerated since 2003, convicted of ordering dozens of murders and facing numerous other accusations. He was deported from the United States to El Salvador in the 1990s, where he became involved with emerging gang cells that later identified as Barrio 18.
According to authorities, Mojica continued to lead the gang from prison, using handwritten notes known as 'wilas' and prison visits to orchestrate crimes, including purges of prisons and massacres. He ruled with an iron fist, ordering systematic extortion that targeted small business owners and truck drivers in Barrio 18-controlled territories, often resulting in murder or disappearance for those who refused to pay.
Clinical reports from the General Directorate of Prisons indicate that Mojica suffered from liver cirrhosis, hepatorenal syndrome, and suspected glioblastoma, a highly aggressive brain tumour. He was diagnosed with kidney and liver problems in 2024.
Mojica was instrumental in facilitating a 2012 truce between Barrio 18 and its major rival, MS-13, during the presidency of the late Mauricio Funes. The agreement temporarily reduced El Salvador's homicide rate from 14 to an average of five per day. Since President Nayib Bukele took office in 2019, his administration's crime crackdowns and state of emergency declarations have significantly weakened Barrio 18, which had previously split into two factions: the Sureños and the Revolucionarios.
