International Salvadoran troops besiege two cities in gang crackdown

[LeonardoBjj]

Apopa (El Salvador) (AFP) – With rifles, helmets, and bulletproof vests, some 4,000 soldiers and police on Wednesday encircled sections of two Salvadoran cities as part of a massive crackdown on gang activity.

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

"Since this morning, 3,500 soldiers and 500 police have established three security perimeters" in parts of Apopa and Soyapango, cities which abut the capital San Salvador, Bukele wrote on social media Wednesday.

Soldiers guarded entry points to the neighbourhoods to block anyone trying to flee, while police went house-to-house asking for identity documents and even rental contracts -- as many gangsters seize houses from locals.

Some officers even took up positions in a small church, while others checked passing vehicles, an AFP journalist observed.

Gangsters are often identified by their tattoos or IDs if they have police records. Locals typically know who they are too, and might tip off the police.

Defence Minister Rene Francis Merino said the operation "is a response to a call from the population indicating that there are some gang members trying to reorganize" in the area.

"We are not going to stop until we capture the last remaining terrorist (gang member). We will not allow small remnants to regroup and take away the peace that has cost us so much," said Bukele.

Bukele imposed the state of emergency, which allows arrests without a warrant, after a particularly bloody weekend in March 2022 left 87 civilians dead at the hands of gang members.

Since then, some 73,000 alleged gang members have been arrested. More than 7,000 were later released.

The new anti-gang raid comes as Congress will be asked on Wednesday to approve an extension of the state of emergency.

In February, Bukele inaugurated a mega-prison considered the biggest in the Americas, with a capacity of 40,000, in central Tecoluca.

The controversial leader is expected to seek re-election in February 2024.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-ne...oops-besiege-two-cities-in-hunt-for-gangsters

 

[LeonardoBjj]

El Salvador Escalates Gang Crackdown With New Measures

by Gavin Voss

With the deployment of thousands of soldiers to rural El Salvador and new legislation permitting the trial of hundreds of people at a time, President Nayib Bukele has unveiled the latest chapter in his campaign against the country’s street gangs.

The Salvadoran military and police deployed 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers to Cabañas, a rural, sparsely populated department along the country’s northern border with Honduras.

The goal of the mobilization, Bukele announced in an August 1 tweet, is to track down members of the Barrio 18 and MS13 gangs thought to be taking refuge in the department. On July 30, gang members allegedly ambushed policemen in the town of Ilobasco, injuring two. In the following days, security forces surrounded Cabañas, preventing alleged gang members from fleeing.

“No gang member will be able to leave, while our extraction teams are in charge of removing them from their hiding places,” Bukele tweeted.

The deployment of troops to Cabañas follows legislation passed by the National Assembly on July 26. The new law allows mass trials of alleged gang members in groups of up to 900 and raises the maximum prison sentence for gang leaders from 45 to 60 years.

These are the latest anti-gang measures amid an unprecedented mano dura, or iron fist, security crackdown. For over a year, the Salvadoran government has used a state of exception to justify an all-out war on gangs. Emergency measures have suspended some constitutional rights, like the right to legal counsel and a fair trial, and have resulted in the imprisonment of nearly 72,000 people — or 2% of the country’s adult population.

The measures have reduced homicide rates and dismantled gangs, pushing Bukele’s approval rating to 90%. The president claimed on August 1 that the country is on pace for a homicide rate of just 2.2 per 100,000 in 2023, down from a staggering 103 per 100,000 in 2015.

“El Salvador is a place where gangs no longer govern nor have a presence,” Salvadoran journalist and InSight Crime contributor Juan José Martínez d’Aubuisson said.

Despite the popularity of the anti-gang measures among Salvadorans, human rights organizations have criticized the state of exception, denouncing human rights violations such as mass arbitrary arrests and unfair judicial procedures.

InSight Crime Analysis

Although homicide rates have fallen and gang presence in the country has diminished, Bukele is showing no signs of slowing his crackdown. Instead, he is doubling down by targeting new areas and further eroding legal protections.

The mobilization in Cabañas is a continuation of previous heavy-handed but seemingly successful tactics. In May, Bukele sent 5,000 troops to the municipality of Nueva Concepción in the Chalatenango department in response to the murder of a policeman by suspected gang members. Troops surrounded the town, then searched and detained those within its boundaries, yielding at least 50 arrests.

Now, security forces are using the same strategy on the entire department of Cabañas, where the number of detainees will likely eclipse Nueva Concepción.

With the start of the state of exception in March 2022, authorities were given free rein to arrest people indiscriminately. The government suspended the requirements that police inform detainees of the reason for their arrest and that all detainees must be taken before a judge within 72 hours. This has facilitated the imprisonment of thousands of gang members and non-gang members alike.

“The police and military have become judges,” Martínez told InSight Crime. “And once [suspected gang members] are captured in these raids, their chances of getting out in a short period of time are very complicated.”

With mass trials and extended prison sentences, the government has enacted the legal tools necessary to not only carry out mass arrests but also keep detainees in prison once arrested.

Legalizing mass trials validates an already existing — though technically illegal — practice, which will be used to sentence detainees to prison quickly and with little evidence.

Raising the maximum sentence for gang leaders follows other increases in sentencing for those accused of gang-related crimes. At the start of the state of exception, the government announced it was raising the maximum penalty for gang leaders from nine years to 45 years in prison before the latest rise to 60 years.

Together with the creation of a mega-prison, these measures bring authorities closer to their goal of keeping detainees in prison indefinitely.

“They are never going to return to the communities, the neighborhoods, the barrios, and the cities of our country,” Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s minister for justice and public security, said in March.

https://insightcrime.org/news/el-salvador-escalates-gang-crackdown-with-new-measures/

 

[plataoplombo]

Good for them. If you care about your country, you gotta do something about the crime.

 

[no fat chicks]

Good for them. If you care about your country, you gotta do something about the crime.

How about reduce poverty, increase education etc. Autocratic rule with a militarized police force isn't exactly an ideal solution.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

El Salvador is gradually filling its new mega prison with alleged gang members

BY MARCOS ALEMÁN
Updated 7:52 PM BRT, October 12, 2023
TECOLUCA, El Salvador (AP) — With tattoo-covered faces, and wearing white shirts and shorts, gang members captured during El Salvador’s state of exception are gradually filling the country’s new mega prison.

Unveiled earlier this year, the prison 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of the capital now holds some 12,000 accused or convicted gang members, barely a quarter of its 40,000 capacity.

Prisoners here do not receive visits. There are no programs preparing them for reinsertion into society after their sentences, no workshops or educational programs.

The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials. Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards. They are never allowed outside.

President Nayib Bukele ordered its construction when El Salvador began making massive arrests early last year in response to a surge in gang violence. Since then, more than 72,000 people have been arrested for being alleged gang members or affiliates.

Human rights organizations have said that thousands have been unjustly detained without due process and dozens have died in prisons.

When Bukele unveiled the Terrorism Confinement Center in February, he tweeted: “El Salvador has managed to go from being the world’s most dangerous country, to the safest country in the Americas. How did we do it? By putting criminals in jail. Is there space? There is now.” His justice minister said later those imprisoned there would never return to communities.

The prison’s massive scale and lack of any sort of rehabilitation have been criticized by human rights organizations.

Bukele’s security policies are widely popular among Salvadorans. Many neighborhoods are enjoying life out from under the oppressive control of gangs for the first time in years.

Walking through one of the prison’s eight sprawling pavilions Thursday, some prisoners acknowledged a group of journalists with a nod of the head or slight wave. Journalists were not allowed to speak with them or to cross a yellow line two yards from each cell. Guards’ faces were covered with black masks.

Each cell holds 65 to 70 prisoners. Steel walkways cross atop the cells so guards can watch prisoners from above. The prison does have dining halls, break rooms, a gym and board games, but those are for guards.

“We’re watching here all day, there’s no way to escape, from here you don’t get out,” said a guard with his face covered.

Melvin Alexander Alvarado, a 34-year-old “soldier” in the Barrio 18 Sureño gang serving a 15-year sentence for extortion, was the only prisoner that prison officials allowed to speak with journalists. He said prisoners were treated well and were fed.

Alvarado, his shaved head and his arms completely covered in gang tattoos, said he hoped people would help him find a job when he gets out and give him a chance at a new life. He planned to speak to young people, discouraging them from joining a gang.

“I lost everything here, I lost my family, everything,” he said.

https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-prison-gangs-bukele-42315f24691e0a3136d005ab7c0bee6a

 

[no fat chicks]

You can place a decent amount of blame Regan and the Cia for this shit.

If you don't want desperate criminals flooding over the border you need to make sure this country's are doing well. They're tropical paradises connected by land to the most powerful economy in the world.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

You can place a decent amount of blame Regan and the Cia for this shit.

If you don't want desperate criminals flooding over the border you need to make sure this country's are doing well. They're tropical paradises connected by land to the most powerful economy in the world.

- The fastest solution that people will see is the incarcerament of the possible gang members(because i bet theres inocents there).

Reducing poverty, investments in education would take time. I think one of my first thread here was about El Salvador crackdown on gangs. Another said that Bukeles way is seemly working, because thats the first thing thats aparent.

 

[no fat chicks]

- The fastest solution that people will see is the incarcerament of the possible gang members(because i bet theres inocents there).

Reducing poverty, investments in education would take time. I think one of my first thread here was about El Salvador crackdown on gangs. Another said that Bukeles way is seemly working, because thats the first thing thats aparent.

Yeah, it's definitely gonna work. It's just what kind of society are you left with after giving your police so much power.

 

[plataoplombo]

How about reduce poverty, increase education etc. Autocratic rule with a militarized police force isn't exactly an ideal solution.

You need that too but that takes time. The crack down on gang crimes is just one of the many issues that country has.

 

[NoSmilez]

The legos need more baldies

 

[Scheme]

How about reduce poverty, increase education etc. Autocratic rule with a militarized police force isn't exactly an ideal solution.

Actually this shows that it is effective. 90% approval rating and murder rate down massively. Also consider that the open gang warfare may also be driving those problems of poverty and lack of education rather than only being caused by them.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

A YouTuber I subscribe to, Actual Justice Warrior, did an interesting video about this subject a few months ago.



Its long, but detailed.

My own concern is that it seems like a very big probability there's been some innocent kids/youngadults may have been mistaken for gang members and thrown in the lot without due process.

The police to seem to be the prosecutors, jury, and judges for many to be sent to prison for a very very long time without a justice system being adequately able to investigate each arrest.

How many are there? Dozens? Hundreds? Of the tens of thousands arrested? It'd be a complete guess. But its extreme measures being taken in a response to an extreme situation of gangs & cartels being more powerful than their local & national governments, with an extremely high murder rate.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Yeah, it's definitely gonna work. It's just what kind of society are you left with after giving your police so much power.

- It will end in a ditactorship probably. The diference is that was the gangs that dictated the rules.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Actually this shows that it is effective. 90% approval rating and murder rate down massively. Also consider that the open gang warfare may also be driving those problems of poverty and lack of education rather than only being caused by them.

- One necessites the other to exist. When the criminals get in power, they dont want to lose that power. So they do anything to mantain their status.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

A YouTuber I subscribe to, Actual Justice Warrior, did an interesting video about this subject a few months ago.

- I will watch now. Thank you for the video.

I agree, theres pobrably hundreds of inocents jailed. People that had some problem with some soldier or cops, they're at these cops own discreption to get jailed. It's to much power!

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

It's shitty, but the situation was out of hand. You can't use a light touch to fix a problem like that, you need a big ass hammer and the will to use it. The president did what he thought was best given the circumstances. And if the murder and crime rate is plummeting while this is going on, it's a step in the right direction. The next step would be improving education, bringing jobs to the country, and trying to jump start tourism for quick cash to fund the necessary programs.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

- @GearSolidMetal : I watching the video. Is good, just 30 mins. Didn't knew about this channel, will foward to a friend that is a prisional police oficer here.The presenter is actually likeable, and behaves normal.

I apreciate that the prison looks clean and they arent misstreathing the inmates. Prisons here are the waiting room for hell!

Also. The gangsters collaborate to the security forces job, by using uniforms, tattoos. Lol!<45>

 

[Rod1]

How about reduce poverty, increase education etc. Autocratic rule with a militarized police force isn't exactly an ideal solution.

On a serious note, rule of law is the basis of development, can't have proper development in crime controlled areas.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

You need that too but that takes time. The crack down on gang crimes is just one of the many issues that country has.

plus pretty impossible to reduce poverty when those trying to contribute to the economy have to live in fear of rampant gangs and criminals lol.

“why can’t the government just give all these gang members high paying, skilled labour jobs? Regardless, it is all the fault of the US doing something decades ago”

 

[tastaylvr]

The country is without a doubt much safer than before. He has accomplished a lot in regards to crime as the leader of the country. I don't know anyone else who has done such a great job even though it was done through strong methods. The only issues moving forward is when the country is at a point where they end the crime issue. How will he act after that? He has already altered the constitution to reach his goals so will he be willing to give up power once his goals are achieved?

I wonder how history will perceive Nayib in decades to come.