Gang violence in El Savador Thousands of soldiers seal off neighborhood
More than 2000 soldiers and 500 police officers have surrounded the San Marcos neighborhood in San Salvador to combat gang violence.
29.10.2024, 05:41
dpa
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- More than 2000 soldiers and 500 police officers have surrounded the San Marcos district in San Salvador to combat gang violence.
- The aim of the operation in the capital of El Savador was to break up members of a criminal gang that wanted to set up shop in the area.
- The operation is part of a comprehensive crackdown on gang violence initiated by the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, following outbreaks of violence in March 2022.
The aim of the operation in the capital of El Savador was to dismantle members of a criminal gang that wanted to set up shop in the area. "There is a group of gang members hiding here," wrote the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, in a post on X on Monday. According to Defense Minister René Francis Merino Monroy, a military fence with several checkpoints had been erected to prevent gang members from escaping.
The fence is the third of its kind in San Salvador and part of a comprehensive crackdown on gang violence initiated by Bukele following outbreaks of violence in March 2022. The government declared a "state of emergency" and suspended constitutional rights in order to arrest more than one percent of the population without evidence.
Human rights groups criticize the government's crackdown and complain about the conditions in prisons. According to human rights organizations, many of those arrested are innocent or have only loose connections to gangs. Despite the criticism, the fight against the gangs Barrio 18 and MS-13 in El Salvador has led to a reduction in murders and has given Bukele support among the population.