El Salvador has initiated a reinforced security measure to address criminal gang activities, focusing on the Cabañas municipality, deploying approximately 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers.
The secured area covers the central province of Cabañas, primarily an agricultural and livestock region, where the government claims gangs exert significant influence, threatening locals and instigating unrest.
For over a year, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has been invoking a special measure, renewed every 30 days, that curtails certain constitutional guarantees to expedite the apprehension of suspected criminals, with arrests now exceeding 70,000.
President Bukele recently said, “Since the early hours, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers have established a security perimeter encompassing the entire Cabañas department (about 1,000 square kilometers).
Their role is to prevent gang members from exiting the region and to sever any supply chains supporting these groups.”
He added that due to the ongoing efforts against gangs, Cabañas has witnessed an uptick in gang cells, many of whom seek refuge in the rural areas.
El Salvador’s Defense Minister, René Merino, stated, “Special Forces units, utilizing Air Force helicopters, carry out airborne operations to infiltrate the rural sectors of Sensuntepeque in Cabañas, aiming to locate gang members hiding in hard-to-reach terrains and attempting to break the security perimeter.”