President Nayib Bukele ordered the operation after a policeman was killed by a criminal gang. On Twitter, he writes that the military and the police should not only look for those responsible for the policeman’s death, they should also break down the entire structure of gang crime and get hold of everyone who collaborates with the gangs.
“They will pay dearly for the murder of our hero,” writes the president.
The operation around the city of Nueva Concepcion began at dawn on Wednesday, local time, and since then everyone who passed the cordons has been forced to identify themselves. At the same time, house searches are underway in a large number of homes in the city where around 30,000 people live.
A similar effort was made in October, when 2,000 soldiers surrounded the town of Comasagua, southwest of the capital, San Salvador. Then 50 suspects were arrested within two days. And in December, 10,000 soldiers surrounded a suburb of the capital in search of gang members.
An extensive effort against gang crime was launched nine months ago following a decision by the president. Just over 68,000 people have been arrested since the operation began in March last year.
At the same time, El Salvador’s tough crackdown on suspected criminals has drawn strong criticism for, among other things, brutality and summary arrests.
The country’s parliament on Tuesday approved for the 14th time an extension of the temporary emergency laws that allow the increased violence by the police.