A new, heavily armed elite force is targeting 100 gang bosses who have wreaked havoc in one of the world's deadliest countries.
El Salvador is ranked as the most dangerous nation not at war, with 104 murders per 100,000 of the population.
The Special Reaction Force will go after gang bosses hiding out in rural areas and in the Central American country's cities.
The unit is made up of 600 army commandos and 400 elite police.
Helicopters and armoured trucks will be used to help track down the kingpins and bring down their criminal operations.
Gang bosses already behind bars have recently been targeted by a new law that limits their movements and family visits, and blocks mobile phone signals from prison.
Some of the main gangs called a halt to murders to try to stop the government's action, but authorities are determined to round up the ringleaders.
"We cannot yield to those who scorn life. We cannot yield to those who scorn the law and who, irrationally, every day, take the lives of children, of youths, of families," said President Ortiz.
Much of El Salvador's chronic violence is blamed on criminals deported from the US in the 1990s.
America is giving $750m (£523m) in aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to help them improve security and deter their citizens from fleeing illegally to the States.
Between them, the three small "Northern Triangle" countries recorded some 17,000 murders in 2015.
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