Colombian police discovered that youths in the central city of Bucaramanga were using social networking website Facebook to declare a brutal gang war, reported news site Vanguargia on Tuesday.
Through creating a false profile and making “friends” with the youths, members of the metropolitan police found that rival gangs were using the site to send each other threatening messages such as “consider yourself my enemy, if I see you, I will attack” and “hide yourself under the ground … soon you’re going to cry like girls.”
The young men, all between the ages of 18 and 25, also posted pictures of themselves wielding weapons such as knives and guns.
Investigation into the rivalry suggests that it started when the goods stolen in a joint robbery by the gangs was split unfairly between members.
According to reports, the gang war has left at least ten youths injured.
Police were able to identify several of the gang members via information provided on their profiles and have since arrested two of the youths.