Relatives and human rights organizations describe these arrests as “arbitrary.”
The Minister of Justice and Security of El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, reported that in the last four months the authorities of that country have captured 49,000 alleged gang members, a product of the emergency regime decreed by the Nayib Bukele government since March.
“Within the results, more than four months into the emergency regime, we already have more than 49,000 gang terrorists who have been captured,” Villatoro said during a press conference last Monday.
On the other hand, the head of Security specified that between July 30 and August 7 there were 6 days without homicides, while of the four that occurred this month, “three have already been resolved.” For the official, these results translate into “zero impunity.”
“We have a clear instruction from our president Nayib Bukele and that is that blood crimes, regardless of whether or not they are linked to gangs, we will not tolerate them: homicide committed, murderer caught“, he expressed.
He also stated that in the last four months 1,254 firearms have been seized; 1,493 vehicles and more than $1,153,000 in cash.
“Know that we have a commitment to our population and that is what leads us every day to go out and face this war against gangs, defeat this enemy that for more than 30 years held the population captive,” he added.
The “safest” vacation
This report was given by Villatoro to announce the results of the operations carried out during the holiday season, which he described as “the safest in the history of El Salvador.”
According to official figures, murders were reduced by 75%, compared to the same period in 2021. For this security plan, 40,000 soldiers and police650 firefighters and 232 rescuers.
For his part, the director of the Police, Mauricio Antonio Arriaza, said that during the vacation period they captured 886 people, of which 15 were for theft and robbery, and the rest “for different circumstances, crimes and especially for belonging to organizations criminals”.
Likewise, in 40,000 boardings made to public transport units, 15 suspected gang members were apprehended.
Faced with the criticism that these arrests have raised, which have been classified as “arbitrary” by some relatives of the detainees and by institutions for the defense of human rights, the United Nations Organization (UN) stated that it will send in the coming months a mission to that country to evaluate the Territorial Control Plan and the emergency regime.
Source: RT
