Central America
More than 215 gang members deported from Guatemala and Mexico in war on gangs
November 20 |
More than 215 gang members from different terrorist structures have been deported from Guatemala and Mexico to El Salvador as part of the frontal combat against gangs between the end of March 2022 and November 7 of this year, according to data from the General Sub-Directorate of Criminal Investigation (SGIC) of the National Civil Police (PNC) of Guatemala and the National Institute of Migration of Mexico (INM).
On several occasions, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Gustavo Villatoro, has emphasized that the arrests of the gang members trying to flee from justice are thanks to the good investigative and intelligence work of the Salvadoran police in coordination with Guatemalan and Mexican authorities.
The Security Minister reiterated that the war against gangs, conceived by President Nayib Bukele, will end until the last terrorist is captured and that none of them will escape justice, even if they flee to other countries.
On November 9, the SGIC of the Guatemalan police reported that from January 1 to November 7, 2023, 76 gang members were arrested and handed over to the authorities in El Salvador.
The total number of those apprehended were sent to the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM) to be handed over to the Salvadoran Police. Guatemalan authorities indicated that among those captured were 38 members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) and 38 of the Barrio 18 gang, from whom 13 pistols, a shotgun, 12 magazines, a motorcycle, two rifles, 192 rounds of ammunition of different calibers, 51 cell phones and a vehicle were seized.
The official report states that the terrorists were wanted by the Salvadoran PNC for committing crimes in the country.
In 2022, 94 Salvadorans were apprehended, of whom 75 were handed over to the security forces and 19 are serving sentences in Guatemala. Of the total number of those captured, 46 were from gang 18, 36 were from the MS and 12 were from other criminal groups. During the operations, 19 firearms, 226 rounds of ammunition of different calibers, 32 cell phones, 14 pistols, nine hoppers and two motorcycles were seized.
The deportees belonged to Las Cachorras, Teclas Locos Salvatruchas and Programas San Marcos MS-13.
The head of the Transnational Anti-Gang Center (CAT), Randall García, commented that the personnel under his charge have carried out 63 deportations and eight captures of members of the cliques, and that the work is carried out by human talent specialized in the search, location and arrest of Salvadoran, Honduran and Mexican criminals operating in Guatemalan territory.
He added that they currently maintain continuous communication with the countries that make up the Northern Triangle of Central America, Mexico and Belize.
“Specific plans are being carried out in border areas where police presence has been maintained with operational control devices, investigation and police intelligence units to reduce the incursion of gang members due to the regime applied by the Government of El Salvador,” said Najarro.
Meanwhile, reports from Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) show that in 2021 they arrested seven gang members, while in 2022 they closed with 22 arrests; the figure represents an increase of 214% over the previous year.
According to Mexican authorities, this increase is a result of the security policies implemented by President Bukele’s government against the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs, which for many years generated terror among Salvadorans.
The latest captures were announced by Minister Gustavo Villatoro. Those arrested were Reyes de Jesús Flores Menjívar, alias Vilma, of the 18 Sureños gang, arrested in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and José Steven Tablas López, alias Chele, of the MS-13 structure, apprehended in Tijuana, Mexico.
The terrorists will be prosecuted for the crime of illicit groupings and will serve years in prison. “We are no longer the State that served the interests of criminals. Those times are over,” added the official.
Central America
Venezuelan opposition leader to meet Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves on thursday
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia will meet with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves this Thursday, the Presidential Office of Costa Rica announced today.
“We will give a warm welcome to the person who won the July elections in Venezuela, and we continue to denounce electoral fraud,” President Chaves stated during his weekly press conference.
Meanwhile, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André explained that González Urrutia is visiting Costa Rica to “inform the president and provide details about the situation in Venezuela, the victory he achieved with over 7 million votes on July 28, and the electoral fraud committed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which fraudulently swore him in as president.”
González Urrutia is currently in Guatemala, having arrived from the Dominican Republic as part of a tour through several countries ahead of the controversial inauguration on January 10, during which the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president by the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party.
Central America
President Arévalo highlights anti-corruption and drug trafficking efforts in first year report
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León highlighted this Tuesday the progress made in the fight against corruption and drug trafficking as cornerstones of his first year at the helm of the Guatemalan government, during a session in Congress.
“We are in a process of transformation, but the commitment must be focused on eradicating the corruption that has oppressed us for so long,” said the president during the presentation of his first government report.
Arévalo de León urged lawmakers to “work together for structural change” in the country and thanked the president of the Legislative Body, Nery Ramos, for their joint efforts in the approval of various laws and the alliances formed during 2024.
The Guatemalan president highlighted as an achievement of his administration the denunciation of dozens of corruption structures embedded in state entities, such as fraud networks involving businessmen and former officials.
Central America
Honduras arrests former military leaders over 2009 killings
Former Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Honduras, General Romeo Vásquez, was arrested on Sunday as the alleged person responsible for the 2009 killings of two individuals by military personnel, just days after leading the coup against former President Manuel Zelaya.
Along with him, the Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Venancio Cervantes, and the former commander of the Joint Operations Command were also detained, according to the Secretary of State for Security (Interior), Gustavo Sánchez, on his social media account X.
“The three arrests were made moments ago by the Honduran Police in coordination with the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa and La Paz (west),” Sánchez said.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued an arrest warrant for the three ex-military officials “on charges of homicide and aggravated assault” against Obed Murillo and Alex Zavala, who were attacked by “members of the Armed Forces,” according to the Public Ministry.
Noboa once again entrusts the Vice President of Ecuador to the vice president he appointed by decree
Musk’s Starship was lost after a smooth takeoff
Mark Carney announces his candidacy to replace Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
Central America3 days agoPresident Arévalo highlights anti-corruption and drug trafficking efforts in first year report
-
Central America2 days agoVenezuelan opposition leader to meet Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves on thursday
-
International4 days agoVenezuela’s Interior Ministry confirms arrest of María Corina Machado’s driver
-
International4 days agoÁlvaro Uribe calls for international military intervention to oust Maduro
-
International4 days agoMigrants in Ciudad Juárez brave subzero temperatures with donations of warm clothing
-
International4 days ago12 dead after jade mine collapse in Northern Myanmar
-
International1 day agoThe Government of Israel accuses Hamas of wanting to modify the truce agreement and postpones its vote
-
International3 days agoACLU prepares for “worst-case scenario” on immigration under incoming Trump administration
-
International1 day agoAn Australian influencer is accused of poisoning her baby to earn money
-
International1 day agoRussia attacks Kiev in the middle of British Prime Minister Starmer’s visit
-
International3 days agoHMPV infection rate declining in Northern China, health official reports
-
International3 days agoTrump announces creation of external revenue service to collect foreign tariffs
-
International1 day agoFar-right Israeli minister will leave the Netanyahu government if his country does not resume the war after the truce
-
International4 hours agoMark Carney announces his candidacy to replace Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada
-
International3 days agoElon Musk sends Cybertrucks with Starlink and supplies to assist Los Angeles wildfire victims
-
International4 hours agoMusk’s Starship was lost after a smooth takeoff
-
International5 hours agoHRW assures that Sheinbaum “inherited a crisis” from López Obrador due to “extreme violence” in Mexico
-
International4 hours agoNoboa once again entrusts the Vice President of Ecuador to the vice president he appointed by decree
-
International5 hours agoThe Prosecutor’s Office asks Boluarte to hand over the documents that justify the surgery he kept hidden
-
International1 day agoPope Francis suffers a fall without fractures and his arm is immobilized as a precaution
-
International2 days agoCanadian business leaders meet with president Sheinbaum to boost investments in Mexico
-
International2 days agoBiden warns “Soul of America” still at stake ahead of farewell address
-
International1 day agoEmotional support dogs help firefighters fighting fires in California
-
International2 days agoMarco Rubio warns of China’s threat and criticizes Venezuela and Cuba in Senate hearing
-
International1 day agoIndigenous peoples of Mexico help migrants stranded in the south far from the border
-
International5 hours agoChina, Israel and Burma, the countries in the world with the most journalists imprisoned in 2024
-
International5 hours agoAntony Blinken assures that the Panamanian sovereignty of the Panama Canal “will not change”
-
International1 day agoRussia and Iran will sign a strategic agreement three days before Trump’s inauguration
-
International1 day agoThe ‘Supersopa’, created during the great crisis of 2002, returns to the canteens of Argentina
-
International5 hours agoEdmundo González Urrutia’s team says that the anti-chavista will attend Trump’s investiture
-
International1 day agoFrench justice saves a domesticated boar threatened with euthanasia by the authorities
-
International1 day agoCarlos Correa, director of the Venezuelan NGO Espacio Público, has been released from prison
-
International1 day agoSeparate negotiators and last-minute details, this is how the ceasefire in Gaza was negotiated
-
International5 hours agoAt least five peace signatories and social leaders are killed in fighting in Colombia
-
International5 hours agoForeign Affairs confirms the kidnapping of a Spaniard in North Africa by a jihadist group