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San Salvador (AFP) – The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced Thursday that a member of the Barrio 18 gang was killed and four others were captured for the murder of three policemen, as part of a “war” that his government is waging against these organizations.
The gang members of the Barrio 18, Sureños faction (18-S), were located in an inn on the outskirts of Santa Ana, the second largest city in the country, 60 kilometers west of San Salvador, where the events occurred last Tuesday.
“Five were the 18-S terrorists who murdered our heroes,” Bukele said on Twitter.
“One of them was injured in the confrontation and is in hospital custody. Today, our National Civil Police intercepted the other 4. One of them was killed in the operation, the other 3 have been captured,” he explained.
5 were the 18-S terrorists who assassinated our heroes.
One of them was injured in the confrontation and is in custody at a hospital.
Today our @PNCSV intercepted the other 4; one of them was killed in the operation, the other 3 have been captured.
– Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 30, 2022
“These murderers were hidden in an inn. When our special forces entered, the terrorist ‘Robiño, identified as Rodolfo Mejía, fired at our agents, but was shot down instantly. Our policemen are unharmed,” Bukele said.
The arrests were recorded just as this Thursday in Coatepeque, the town of Santa Ana, dozens of police officers participated in the funeral of Carlos Mauricio Velásquez, one of the three murdered agents, whose coffin was covered with the country’s blue and white flag.
Agent Franklin Lemus was buried in Atiquizaya, while Martha Lisset Alas, in Tacuba, both cities in the department of Ahuachapán.
Bukele promised to intensify the “war against the gangs”
On Tuesday, after the crime, Bukele promised to intensify the “war” against the gangs.
In response to an escalation of 87 murders committed between March 25 and 27, Congress accepted a request from the Salvadoran president to decree an exceptional regime, which has been extended until at least the end of July, and has allowed arrests without a court order. to 43,567 suspected gang members.
Organizations such as Amnesty International and the NGO ‘Human Rights Watch’, in addition to the United States Government, have called on Bukele to respect human rights.
The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs mainly operate in El Salvador. Until before the government’s attack, some 16,000 of their members were incarcerated.
But with the arrests of the last three months, 59,567 members would be behind bars, 85% of the 70,000 members officially considered to exist in the country.
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