Police said they recorded 62 homicides in El Salvador on Saturday alone, attributed to gangs, as parliament plans to declare a state of emergency in the face of mounting violence.
“This Saturday March 26 ended with 62 homicides in the country“, announced the National Civil Police on Twitter. “We will not back down in this war on gangs, we will not stop capturing and bringing to justice the criminals responsible for these acts“, she added.
El Salvador’s police and army on Saturday launched an operation against the Mara Salvatrucha, one of the country’s most dangerous gangs.
Several leaders of the gang have been arrested and are charged with being “responsible for the homicides recorded in recent hours“, said the police.
In response to this wave of violence, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Saturday urged parliament – dominated by his party – to declare a state of emergency.
State of emergency declared
According to the Salvadoran Constitution, a state of emergency can be put in place “in the event of war, invasion of territory, rebellion, sedition, catastrophe, epidemic or other general calamity, or serious disturbances of public order“.
“Since yesterday we have seen a new rebound in homicides, something we have been working so hard against. While fighting the criminals in the street, we try to decipher what is happening and who is behind and finances all thisNayib Bukele, who called a crisis meeting of security officials, said in a statement.
The head of state asked the prosecutor’s office to deal with the same “efficiency“all cases of gang members, warning he would keep an eye out”judges who favor criminals“.
The Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18 and other gangs that make a living mainly from drug trafficking and extortion, have a total of about 70,000 members in El Salvador, of whom more than 17,000 are incarcerated, according to authorities.
El Salvador recorded 1,140 homicides in 2021 – or 18 per 100,000 inhabitants – the lowest figure since the end of the civil war in 1992.
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