Central America

Troops deployed in San Salvador amid massive gang crackdown

Photo:

| By AFP |

More than 2,000 soldiers and police surrounded two districts in El Salvador’s capital on Saturday as part of President Nayib Bukele’s war on gangs, the second such operation this month in the Central American country.

“As of this morning, the Tutunichapa district in San Salvador is totally surrounded,” Bukele posted on Twitter.

“More than 1,000 soldiers and 130 police officers will extract the criminals who still remain,” he added.

Bukele later tweeted that 1,000 more soldiers and 100 police officers had been dispatched to La Granjita, another neighborhood in the capital.

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“After encircling Tutunichapa, a famous drug distribution center, we knew that many drug traffickers would take refuge in the neighborhood of La Granjita, another famous distribution center”, Bukele tweeted.

Images released Saturday by the office of the president showed heavily armed soldiers entering Tutunichapa, a populous district where small houses mostly constructed of concrete blocks stand alongside one of the many polluted streams that run through San Salvador.

Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro posted photos of members of an anti-narcotics police unit with drug-sniffing dogs.

“We are going to extract every criminal from our communities,” Villatoro said in a Twitter post.

‘Bastion on crime’

Defense Minister Rene Merino said 23 people had been arrested in Tutunichapa, without specifying whether they were accused of being gang members or drug traffickers.

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“All terrorists, drug traffickers and gang members will be removed” from the area, Bukele said in another tweet, adding that until recently it was a “bastion of crime.”

“Honest citizens have nothing to fear and can continue to live their lives normally,” he wrote.

Local resident Edwin Diaz, 51, cheered the law enforcement action, saying the area has long been considered a dangerous place due to gang activity and drug sales.

“All our lives we have suffered the stigma that here there is drug dealing, gang members, bad things, and today with this security they have set up, there is nothing to fear,” Diaz told AFP by phone on Saturday.

Echoing Bukele’s remark, Diaz added: “He who owes nothing, fears nothing.”

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Almost 60,000 arrests

Earlier this month, Bukele, who has declared a state of emergency to quash gang violence, sent 8,500 soldiers and 1,500 police officers to surround Soyapango, the country’s third-largest city, with a population of nearly a quarter million.

The president had announced last month a plan to use troops to surround cities while house-by-house searches are conducted for gang members. Soyapango was first on the list.

The siege there has seen armored military vehicles, some with artillery, carrying out constant patrols while heavily armed police search houses and people as they leave their neighborhoods, as well as random sweeps of public transport.

As of Saturday, some 650 suspected gang members had been arrested in Soyapango, Merino said.

“We continue working in the rest of the territory looking for terrorist criminals,” the defense minister added.

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Almost 60,000 suspected gang members have been arrested since the launch of the state of emergency in March, which has prompted humanitarian groups to question what they see as heavy-handed tactics.

Despite that criticism, El Salvador’s Congress on Thursday once again extended the state of emergency for another month.

Over 75 percent of Salvadorans approve of the emergency declaration, and nine out of 10 Salvadorans say that crime “has decreased” with Bukele’s policies, according to a Central American University (UCA) poll published in October.

Related Topics:El Salvador Pandillas San Salvador

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Colombian Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo and current ambassador to the Vatican Iván Velásquez were both members of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, a UN-backed body created to investigate corruption networks within the Guatemalan state between 2007 and 2019.

Investigations led by the CICIG resulted in the imprisonment of high-ranking officials. According to international organizations, the arrest warrants issued against Camargo and Velásquez were seen as retaliation for their anti-corruption work.

In mid-2025, an appeals court in Guatemala ordered their detention after prosecutors accused them of obstruction of justice and influence peddling, among other charges. The ruling alleged that they had favored business figures linked to Odebrecht who were under investigation.

However, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court later ruled that the lower court had “overstepped its authority” by issuing the arrest warrants illegally, according to local media reports.

Camargo and Velásquez had immunity due to their roles within a United Nations-backed entity.

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“A month before the end of the term of the corrupt attorney general, Consuelo Porras, it seems the situation is beginning to change in Guatemala,” Velásquez wrote on social media.

Porras—sanctioned by the United States Government and the European Union over allegations of corruption and anti-democratic actions—is set to leave office on May 16 unless she is reappointed by President Bernardo Arévalo, with whom she has been at odds after attempting to block his inauguration two years ago.

The CICIG was unilaterally dissolved by former Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales (2016–2020).

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Honduras police launch high-impact operations amid security concerns

The director of the Policía Nacional de Honduras, Rigoberto Oseguera, presented a recent assessment of the country’s security situation and announced the deployment of high-impact operations in the department of Olancho.

The police chief identified the municipality of Choloma, in the department of Cortés, as one of the most critical areas for crime at a regional level. This comes despite an overall downward trend in violence across the Valle de Sula.

Oseguera also noted that the Central District—comprising Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela—records a high number of homicides. However, he explained that the rate remains comparatively low due to population density, although crime levels in Francisco Morazán still require special attention.

He added that the police have deployed five tactical intervention teams across key regions, including Valle de Sula, Olancho, Francisco Morazán, and the southern part of the country. In addition, authorities have identified multiple criminal incidents in the municipality of Concordia.

“It is a serious situation. These are long-standing social problems in the region, but it is time to act and not make excuses,” Oseguera emphasized.

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El Salvador and Paraguay approve 2026–2028 cooperation program

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Mira stated that El Salvador will act as the “main provider of cooperation,” contributing five initiatives focused on road infrastructure, tourism, and local development. She also noted that one of the projects will be led by the Paraguayan side, although no further details were disclosed.

The agreement was reached during the Second Meeting of the Joint Commission on Technical and Scientific Cooperation between both countries.

According to Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the First Meeting of the Political Consultation and Bilateral Coordination Mechanism was also held, with the participation of Vice Minister Víctor Verdún.

In an official statement, the Paraguayan government reported that both delegations agreed to identify mechanisms to promote competitiveness, economic growth, and market access. They also committed to signing agreements related to air transport cooperation.