Advertisement

El Salvador sends 10,000 troops to seal off gang-run suburb

Troops get off a truck in the suburb of Soyapango, after El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced the deployment of 10,000 security forces to the troubled area which for years has been considered a stronghold of the violent Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, in San Salvador, El Salvador December 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Gangs in the township of Soyapango yield great power over locals and businesses (Picture: Reuters)

The government of El Salvador has sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off a town in a hunt for gang members.

Troops have blocked roads going in and out of Soyapango and are stopping people to check their documents.

Meanwhile, specialist teams have gone directly into the town to search for gang suspects.

El Salvador’s gangs, which have been estimated to count some 70,000 members in their ranks, have long controlled swaths of territory and extorted and killed with impunity.

Today’s operation is one of the largest mobilisations yet in President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown.

‘Starting now, the township of Soyapango is completely surrounded,’ Mr Bukele wrote on his Twitter account.

He then posted videos showing ranks of rifle-toting soldiers.

More than 58,000 people have been jailed since a state of emergency was declared after a wave of murders in late March.

A resident looks out from her doorway as a soldier takes part in an operation in search of gang members, in Soyapango, El Salvador, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off Soyapango, on the outskirts of the nation???s capital Saturday. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)
A resident looks out from her doorway as a soldier stands guard (Picture: AP)
Soldiers arrive in Soyapango, El Salvador, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off Soyapango, on the outskirts of the nation's capital Saturday to search for gang members. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)
Today’s operation is one of the largest mobilisations yet under President Nayib Bukele (Picture: AP)
epa10346905 Salvadoran policemen patrol a street in Soyapango, El Salvador, 03 December 2022.Some 10,000 members of the Armed Forces and the National Civil Police (PNC) were deployed in the populous municipality of Soyapango to 'extract' gang members who have not yet been captured and continue the 'war against gangs'. EPA/Rodrigo Sura
Thousands have been deployed in the search for gang members (Picture: EPA)

Rights groups have criticised the mass roundups, saying they often sweep up young men based on their appearance or where they live.

It was part of what Mr Bukele called in late November ‘Phase Five’ of the crackdown.

His ruling party have claimed such tactics worked in the town of Comasagua two months ago.

In October, more than 2,000 soldiers and police surrounded and closed off Comasagua in order to search for street gang members accused of murder.

A handout picture released by El Salvador's Presidency press office shows a soldier checking the body of a man for tattoos during an operation searching for gang members in Soyapango, El Salvador, on December 3, 2022. - Nearly 10,000 military and police officers surrounded the populous municipality of Soyapango, on the outskirts of San Salvador, early Saturday morning as part of the war against gangs launched in March by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. (Photo by Handout / EL SALVADOR'S PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT
This image, released by El Salvador’s Presidency press office, shows a soldier checking the body of a man for tattoos (Picture: Getty Images)
epa10346906 Salvadoran policemen patrol a street in Soyapango, El Salvador, 03 December 2022. Some 10,000 members of the Armed Forces and the National Civil Police (PNC) were deployed in the populous municipality of Soyapango to 'extract' gang members who have not yet been captured and continue the 'war against gangs'. EPA/Rodrigo Sura
The government wants to ‘extract’ gang members who have not yet been captured (Picture: EPA)
Soldiers arrive in Soyapango, El Salvador, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off Soyapango, on the outskirts of the nation's capital Saturday to search for gang members. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)
Human rights groups have raised concerns over the tactics used by the government (Picture: AP)

Drones flew over the town and everyone entering or leaving the town was questioned or searched. Around 50 suspects were detained in two days.

The government estimates murders dropped 38% in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period of 2021.

Rights activists say young men are frequently arrested just based on their age, on their appearance or whether they live in a gang-dominated slum.

But Mr Bukele’s crackdown reached another level earlier this month when the government sent inmates into cemeteries to destroy the tombs of gang members at a time of year when families typically visit their loved ones’ graves.

Nongovernmental organisations have tallied several thousand human rights violations and at least 80 in-custody deaths of people arrested during the crackdown.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.



Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post