JAKARTA - Thousands of joint officers from elements of the El Salvador army and police fully armed, including tactical helmets and bullet-proof vests, were deployed to surround the Cabanas area as part of an operation against gang groups.
Security forces have laid siege to major cities several times to carry out house-to-house searches for gang members. However, this is the first time the entire region has been closed.
"Since this morning, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police have installed a security fence around the entire Cabañas area," President Nayib Bukele wrote on his Twitter account as quoted August 2.
"Their job is to prevent gang members from leaving the area and cut off all supply lines for terrorist groups," continued President Bukele.
Earlier, President Nayib Bukele imposed a state of emergency in March 2022, which has arrested tens of thousands of suspected gang members - a move popular with the population but worrying human rights groups.
President Bukele further said Cabanas had in recent weeks become a haven for gang cells fleeing his crackdown.
He said the siege would last until "officers were able to extract all the gang members."
Despite this siege, President Bukele said community and tourist activities in the area could still go on as usual.
"Residents of Cabañas, visitors and tourists can rest easy and go about their normal activities," he wrote in a separate tweet.
Cabanas is a small agricultural area which is home to around 150,000 people.
Trucks full of soldiers were seen on the streets in the cities of Tejutepeque and Ilobaso.
"Since this morning we have seen the presence of troops," radio host Reina Navarrete told the AFP news agency from another city, Victoria.
The state of emergency, which allowed arrests without warrants, left 87 civilians dead at the hands of gang members. Since then, some 72,000 suspected gang members have been arrested.
VOIR éGALEMENT:
Last week, lawmakers passed an interim measure that would allow up to 900 people to be tried at one time.
Collective trials would further violate "the rights to an adequate defense, a fair trial and the presumption of innocence," said Amnesty International America Director Erika Guevara Rosas.
Este masivo cerco garantiza aún más la seguridad de la zona y no lo levantaremos hasta dar con todos los delincuentes.#PlanControlTerritorial#Fase5#GuerraContraPandillas pic.twitter.com/X5xoEBbXfT
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 1, 2023
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