Two cities in El Salvador partially surrounded by four thousand soldiers and police

On Wednesday, about 4,000 soldiers and police partially surrounded two towns near El Salvador’s capital to capture members of criminal groups against which the president is waging “a war.”

‘From early in the morning [de quarta-feira]3,500 soldiers and 500 police officers armed with guns, helmets and body armor have set up three security perimeters in the towns of Apopa and Soyapango, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said in a social media post. .

Soldiers guard entry points to isolated areas, while police go from house to house to carry out identity checks.

The country’s two main criminal groups, Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, operate in both cities. In the neighborhoods everyone knows the members, usually recognizable by tattoos.

Bukele said the operation, similar to those carried out in other cities over the past two months, is part of the plan implemented since 2019 to put gang members behind bars.

El Salvador’s Defense Minister René Francis Merino said the deployment of forces “is a response to a call from the population that some gang members are trying to reorganize” in the area.

“We will not stop until we capture the last terrorists. We will not allow small groups to form and deprive us of the peace we have worked so hard for,” Bukele said.

The new offensive comes on Wednesday as Congress approved the 19th extension of the state of emergency, which was in effect between October 14 and November 12.

The decree, approved with 67 votes in the 84-seat Congress, stipulates that “the state of emergency is extended to the entire territory” of the country.

In response to an outbreak of violence in March 2022 that left 87 dead in less than a week, Bukele launched “a war” against criminal groups, declaring a state of emergency, a move criticized by human rights groups. Since then, approximately 73,000 suspected gang members have been arrested.

In early August, Bukele declared a state of siege by the army and police for the entire central department of Cabañas, marking a new phase in the “war” against organized crime.