SOYAPANGO: About 10,000 soldiers have besieged the town of Soyapango in El Salvador in a massive crackdown on gangs, President Nayib Bukele has announced.
All roads into the city were closed, and special forces were searching the gang members in their homes. Police also arrest anyone trying to leave the country and check identity documents.
Crackdown on gangs in El Salvador’s Soyapango city
The operation is one of a series of crackdowns on violent criminals earlier this year. Soyapango is one of the largest cities in El Salvador and has more than 290,000 people. The city – located just 13 kilometers (8 miles) west of the capital San Salvador – has long been known as a center for trade unions. President Bukele wrote on Twitter: “Soyapango village is now surrounded. “The job of the police and the army is to eliminate all the remaining people one by one.”
He added that civilians “have nothing to fear” and said the protests were “made against criminals, not legitimate citizens”. Footage released by the government shows armed soldiers carrying guns behind the city. One resident, Guadalupe Perez, told AFP news agency that the attack came as a surprise. “They search you and ask for your ID to check where you live, but it’s okay, it’s for our safety,” the 53-year-old said. Since Mr Bukele declared a state of emergency in late March, authorities have arrested more than 58,000 people in the country of 6.5 million people.
But one Mr Bukele says that this persecution is necessary as it was reported that the group killed 62 people in one day on March 26. A recent poll by the University of Central America (UCA) found that 75.9% of Salvadorans support the state of emergency.
