The fight between gangs has unleashed a new episode of violence this week in the Central American country.
This week El Salvador has seen an increase in gang violence. What has caused President Nayib Bukele to order the Police and the Armed Forces to enter different parts of the country to contain an escalation of homicides.
“I have ordered incursions by the National Civil Police and the Armed Forces in the places where homicides were registered yesterday (Tuesday) and today (Wednesday),” said the president on his Facebook page.
Local press reports indicate that since last Monday there has been an increase in the number of homicides. Only on Wednesday there were 20 homicides in the country. Until this escalation of violence, the Police counted on average three a day, according to EFE.
“In the next few hours we will be announcing new actions to contain this escalation of violence and restore tranquility to Salvadorans,” said President Bukele.
Under the Territorial Control olan, approved by the Bukele government, the Army helps the Police in citizen security actions, according to AFP.
The authorities attribute the majority of homicides that occur in the country to gangs.
The Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, among others, have some 70,000 members in El Salvador, more than 17,000 of them imprisoned, according to authorities, and operate through homicides, extortion, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
El Salvador closed 2020 with 1,322 homicides, an average of 20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, less than the 2,398 registered in 2019 and the lowest number since the end of the civil war in 1992, according to official data.
In addition, between January 1 and November 2 of the current year, 936 murders were recorded, 1,208 deaths less than the 2,144 reported in the same period in 2019. (I)
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