By Eduardo Vázquez Bécker.- The president of El Salvador announced that he deployed 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers in Cabañas, to “prevent gang members from leaving the department and cut off all supply lines of terrorist groups.”
President Bukele announced this Tuesday that he imposed a military and police siege in the central department of Cabañas. .
“Since this morning, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers have established a security fence around the entire department of Cabañas. Their job will be to prevent gang members from leaving the department and cut off all supply lines for terrorist groups,” the president wrote on Twitter.
Cabañas is one of the smallest departments in El Salvador, where its difficult, rugged conditions were taken over by the then FMLN guerrillas who successfully confronted the Salvadoran army.
“As a product of our war against gangs, Cabañas has become the place with the largest number of terrorist cells, who have come there looking for their rural areas to hide,” President Bukele said.
The president’s action is framed within a State of Exception approved by the Legislative Assembly but despite this he is constantly questioned by human rights groups linked internationally with organizations that the president publicly rejects.
To date, since March 27, 2022, almost 72,000 suspected gang members have been arrested.