The government’s war on gangs continues in El Salvador. More than 2,000 soldiers cordoned off two neighborhoods in San Salvador on Saturday, December 24. This is the second operation of this type in a month in this Central American country plagued by violence.
Since Saturday morning, the Tutunichapa district “is completely closed”wrote the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, on Twitter. “More than 1,000 soldiers and 130 police will extract the criminals” of this area “notorious for drug trafficking”, he added. In the evening, 1,000 other soldiers and 100 police were sent to seal off another district of the capital, La Granjita.
“After surrounding Tutunichapa, a famous drug distribution center, we knew that many drug traffickers would take refuge in the neighborhood of La Granjita, another famous distribution center”explained the Head of State on the same social network.
In Tutunichapa, 23 people were arrested, according to Defense Minister René Merino. “All terrorists, drug dealers and gang members will be expelled from this area, which until a few months ago was a bastion of crime. Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear and can continue to lead their normal lives.”said Nayib Bukele in another tweet.
Emergency state
On December 3, the army had already mobilized nearly 10,000 soldiers in the town of Soyapango, bordering San Salvador, where around 500 suspected gang members were arrested, according to the latest government report.
The defense minister said that 690 suspected gang members had been arrested as of Saturday in the town of Soyapango.
On March 27, following a request from the President of El Salvador, Congress declared a state of emergency to combat an upsurge in violence caused by gangs. On Thursday, Congress extended for the ninth time this exceptional regime, criticized by human rights organizations.
This war on gangs has led to the arrest of more than 60,000 people since March for alleged links to criminal organizations, according to official figures.