Central America

El Salvador says over 15,000 suspected gang members arrested

AFP

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Friday that police and soldiers have arrested more than 15,000 suspected gang members in under a month in a crackdown seeking to halt surging homicides.

Bukele announced a state of emergency at the end of March following a bloody weekend in which 87 people were killed in gang-related violence.

Since then, the police and military have been rounding up suspected gang members using emergency powers that have done away with the need for arrest warrants.

“More than 15,000 terrorists captured in only 27 days. We continue the War Against Gangs,” the president said on Twitter.

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The wave of detentions is unprecedented in a country that has suffered decades of violent crime driven by powerful gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.

These gangs count some 70,000 members, about 26,000 of whom are behind bars, according to authorities.

A CID Gallup poll published Thursday said 78 percent of Salvadorans fully support the fight against gangs.

A state of emergency decreed by Congress at Bukele’s request last month allowed for arrests without warrants and increased sentences for gang membership five-fold to up to 45 years.

Rights groups say innocent people are getting caught up in an indiscriminate roundup.

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The emergency law also allows jail terms of up to 15 years for anyone “spreading” gang-related messages in the media, prompting journalists to raise censorship fears.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to the crackdown during a visit to Panama to discuss migration with regional leaders.

“We can tackle violence and crime while also protecting civil rights and fundamental freedoms,” said Blinken.

“El Salvador has experienced setbacks in democratic governance, in the separation of powers, the rule of law. And we look to President Bukele to make progress in addressing some of those setbacks,” he added.

Earlier this month, Bukele hit out at the administration of US President Joe Biden over a perceived lack of support.

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The US says it has invested $411 million in improving citizen security and helping El Salvador combat gang violence since 2008.

Central America

Guatemala seizes over a ton of cocaine hidden in flour at Pacific port

Guatemalan security forces seized more than one metric ton of cocaine on Sunday after discovering the drug hidden inside containers filled with flour at a Pacific port, police said.

The cocaine was found inside two shipping containers at Puerto Quetzal, located about 85 kilometers south of Guatemala City in the southern department of Escuintla, according to a police statement.

Authorities reported that 1,039 rectangular packages of cocaine were concealed inside bags of flour, with a total weight of 1,240 kilograms. No arrests were reported in connection with the operation.

Police said the shipment’s country of origin was not disclosed, and the seized drugs were airlifted to secure storage facilities in the capital for safekeeping.

International drug cartels frequently use Central America as a transit route for cocaine shipments bound for the United States, the world’s largest consumer of the drug.

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Central America

Guatemala’s president rules out negotiations with inmates after prison riots

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo stressed that his administration will not negotiate with inmates nor restore concessions granted under previous governments, insisting that the Executive’s priority is to maintain control of the prison system and restore order in detention centers.

Arévalo said one of the key measures implemented by authorities was the blocking of mobile phone signals inside prisons, an action he described as decisive in regaining control of the Renovación 1 penitentiary.

The riots reported at Renovación 1, Fraijanes 2, and the Preventive Detention Center for Men in Zone 18 of Guatemala City were aimed at pressuring the state to recover privileges that had been recently revoked, Arévalo said during a press conference held Wednesday at the National Palace of Culture.

The president explained that inmates were seeking to reinstate special detention conditions, including air conditioning, king-size beds, and internet access, benefits that he said were eliminated by the current administration.

“They attempted to extort the state in order to return to that system of privileges, but they failed,” Arévalo emphasized.

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Central America

Mazatenango Carnival cancelled amid State of Siege in Guatemala

The municipal government of Mazatenango, in the department of Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, has cancelled the city’s traditional Carnival as a security measure aimed at protecting visitors and residents.

The decision was announced on Tuesday through the municipality’s official Facebook page and comes as a preventive action amid the state of siege declared by the national government last Sunday.

The Mazatenango Carnival, one of the country’s most emblematic festivities, boasts more than 140 years of traditionand typically draws large crowds from across Guatemala and neighboring regions. Its program usually includes parades of floats, the traditional “Rabbit Race,” street dancing and live music, concerts, and cultural events in the Central Plaza.

According to the official statement, the cancellation responds to the current security context and the restrictions associated with the state of siege, prioritizing public safety.

Municipal authorities clarified that the scheduled concert by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón will still take place separately and will be the sole responsibility of the private production company, independent of the cancelled carnival activities.