"They stole children from other towns and sacrificed them in front of her (Santa Muerte) when they wanted to land a big hit," a former gang member said.

Gang members are turning to Santa Muerte to shield them from law enforcement and ensure the success of their operations.

These altars are carefully arranged with various elements that hold significant meaning to both Santa Muerte, and those ...

Sporting gloves and a red ribbon to ward off evil, Ecuadoran police raiding a drug den apprehensively inspect an altar to Santa Muerte -- a Mexican death saint adopted by local gangs as their own ...

The eerie statue of a skeleton shrouded in a cape — a scythe in her right hand and a globe of Earth in her left — is the latest in a fast-growing number of Santa Muerte shrines found in ...

The eerie statue of a skeleton shrouded in a cape -- a scythe in her right hand and a globe of Earth in her left -- is the latest in a fast-growing number of Santa Muerte shrines found in criminal ...

Sporting gloves and a red ribbon to ward off evil, Ecuadoran police raiding a drug den apprehensively inspect an altar to Santa Muerte — a Mexican "death saint" adopted by local gangs as their own ...

Quito (AFP) – Sporting gloves and a red ribbon to ward off evil, Ecuadoran police raiding a drug den apprehensively inspect an altar to Santa Muerte -- a Mexican death saint adopted by local ...