El Salvador deploys thousands of troops to battle gangs

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered a military siege with 8,000 security forces in Cabanas to stop gang violence.

By Eren Doguoglu
This handout picture released by El Salvador's Presidency Press Office shows soldiers deployed in Cabanas department, El Salvador, on August 1, 2023. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered a siege this Tuesday with 8,000 soldiers and policemen in the central department of Cabanas in the framework of a "war" that seeks to stop gang members for 16 months. / Photo: AFP Archive / AFP Archive

Thousands of Salvadoran soldiers and police officers have surrounded the central region of Cabanas as part of a massive crackdown on gang activity, the president has said.

President Nayib Bukele imposed a state of emergency in March 2022, which has seen tens of thousands of alleged gang members rounded up — a move popular among residents, but which has alarmed rights groups.

Security forces have on several occasions besieged key cities to carry out house-to-house searches for gang members, but it is the first time an entire department is being cordoned off.

"Since this morning, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers have established a security fence around the entire department of Cabanas," Bukele on Tuesday, wrote on Twitter, now called X.

"Their job will be to prevent gang members from leaving the area and cut off all supply lines belonging to terrorist groups."

Bukele said that Cabanas had in recent weeks become a refuge for gang cells fleeing his crackdown.

He said the blockade would last until "the operatives can extract all gang members."

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Dozens dead, tens of thousands arrested

Cabanas is a small, agricultural region that is home to some 150,000 people.

Trucks loaded with soldiers were seen in the streets of the towns of Tejutepeque and Ilobaso.

"Since this morning we have noticed the presence of soldiers," radio host Reina Navarrete told AFP news agency from another town, Victoria.

The state of emergency, which allows arrests without a warrant left 87 civilians dead at the hands of gang members.

Since then, some 72,000 alleged gang members have been arrested.

Last week, lawmakers passed a temporary measure allowing for up to 900 people to be tried at once.

Collective trials will further violate "the rights to an adequate defence, to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence," Amnesty International Americas Director Erika Guevara Rosas said.