Blockade of southern Chalatenango

Last updated

Blockade of southern Chalatenango
Part of the Salvadoran gang crackdown
Date24 March 2024 – present
Location
Southern Chalatenango Department
StatusOngoing
Parties

Criminal gangs

Lead figures

Uncentralized leadership

Number
5,000 soliders
1,000 police officers
Unknown
Casualties
Arrested50 (as of 2 April 2024) [1]

The blockade of southern Chalatenango began on 24 March 2024 when Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers to blockade and enter the four municipalities in southern Chalatenango. The blockade is the second to be implemented in the Chalatenango Department after the blockade of Nueva Concepción which began in May 2023. The blockade aims to dismantle the 18 Sureños clique of the 18th Street gang.

Contents

Background

On 27 March 2022, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador voted to implement a state of emergency after criminal gangs in El Salvador killed 87 people over the course of one weekend. [2] The vote began the Salvadoran gang crackdown which up to 24 March 2024 had resulted in the arrests of over 78,100 people with suspected gang affiliations. [3] In late-2022 and throughout 2023, the Salvadoran government implemented blockades of parts of the country where gang presence remained high after the crackdown initially began. [4] On 17 May 2023, the Salvadoran Army and the National Civil Police initiate a blockade of Nueva Concepción, a municipality of the Chalatenango Department in northern El Salvador. [5]

Blockade

On 18 March 2024, a homicide was reported to the National Civil Police in San José Cancasque. A few days later on 22 March, a second homicide was reported in the city of Chalatenango. The homicides were linked to the 18 Sureños gang, and the alleged assailants of the two homicides were captured by the National Civil Police by 24 March. [6] The police also recovered the two shotguns allegedly used in the homicides. [4] Radio YSUCA reported that residents in southern Chalatenango noticed an increased military presence following the homicides, and some claimed that the government was going to implement a blockade. [7]

On 24 March, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on X the beginning of a blockade in the southern Chalatenango municipalities of Potonico, San Antonio Los Ranchos, San José Cancasque, and San Isidro Labrador due to the two homicides committed in the days prior. [7] Bukele stated that the goal of the blockade was to dismantle 18 Sureños gang, a clique of the 18th Street gang. [3] A total of 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers were mobilized to blockade the municipalities and arrest gang members. [7] Bukele included a video in his post, in which, the two arrested suspects were shown in front of columns of soldiers. [6]

Reactions

Bukele ended his announcement by stating that "we will not stop until we eradicate what little remains of the gangs" ("no nos vamos a detener hasta erradicar lo poco que aún queda de las pandillas"). [6] Minister of National Defense René Merino Monroy wrote on X that "we will clean the zone completely, we will extract up to the final remnants of the gangs" ("limpiaremos por completo la zona, vamos a extraer hasta el último remanente de pandillas"). [4] Director of the National Civil Police Mauricio Arriaza Chicas stated that the blockade's objective was to "eradicate the 18S clique which commits crime in the zone" ("erradicar la clica de 18S que delinque en la zona"). [8]

Cristosal, a Salvadoran human rights non-governmental organization, asked the military and the police to respect the rights of residents "forced to open their houses" ("obligados a abrir sus casas") in order to search for gang members, and to respect the rights of individuals arrested. [9] Cristosal claimed that the security forces were engaging in arbitrary arrests during the blockade. Cristosal also claimed that the blockade was established in the four municipalities specifically because they voted for Manuel Flores of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) over Bukele in the presidential election two months earlier. Cristosal added that the government had "repeated utilized the army as political tool on occassions to generate pressure and fear in various parts of the country" ("utilizado en reiteradas ocasiones al ejército como instrumento político para generar presión y miedo en diversos territorios del país"). [10]

Residents of the four municipalities under blockade told La Prensa Gráfica that the area had not had a gang problem in "more than six years" ("más de siete años"). [11] The Resistance and Popular Rebellion Bloc denounced the blockade as a "military invasion" ("invasión militar") and demanded the security forces' withdrawal. [12] The Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) questioned Bukele's involvement in organizing the blockade as he was granted a leave of absence in November 2023 in order to seek re-election in 2024; Bukele legally would not be able to order the blockade's implementation as Merino had confirmed Bukele did. [13]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Bernal, David (2 April 2024). "Ministro de Seguridad Afirma que ya Suman 50 Capturas en Cerco de Chalatenango" [Minister of Security Affirms that the Arrests Total 50 in the Chalatenango Blockade]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "El Salvador declares state of emergency after gang killings". Al Jazeera English . 28 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 Bernal, David (25 March 2024). "Ponen Cerco Militar en Chalatenango y Reportan Primeras dos Capturas" [They Place a Military Blockade in Chalatenango and Report the First Two Captures]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Hernández, Silvia (24 March 2024). "Pdte. Bukele Ordena Cerco Militar en Cuatro Distritos de Chalatenango Sur, Tras Homicidios" [President Bukele Orders Military Blockade in Four Districts of Chalatenango Sur, Following Homicides]. La Noticia SV (in Spanish). El Salvador. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Despliegan 5,500 Militares y Policías en Cerco de Nueva Concepción Tras Asesinato de Agente" [5,500 Soldiers and Police Deployed in the Blockade of Nueva Concepción After Murder of Officer]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 May 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Torres, Édgar (24 March 2024). "Presidente Nayib Bukele Ordena Instalar Cerco de Seguridad en Zona Norte del País" [President Nayib Bukele Orders the Installation of a Security Zone in the North of the Country]. Diario la Huella (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "Bukele Anuncia Capturas y Cerco Militar por Homicidios en Chalatenango" [Bukele Announces Arrests and Military Blockade in Chalatenango due to Homicides]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Lemus, Lissette (25 March 2024). "Instalan Cerco Militar en Chalatenango Tras Dos Asesinatos" [They Install a Military Blockade in Chalatenango After Two Homicides]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Cerón, Leonardo (25 March 2024). "Cristosal Llama a Respetar Integridad de Pobladores de Chalatenango "Obligados" a "Albergar Militares y Policías"" [Cristosal Calls to Respect the Integrity of Chalatenango Residents "Forced" to "House Military and Police"]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  10. ↑ Lemus, Lissette (26 March 2024). "Cristosal Advierte de Supuestas Capturas Arbitrarias en Cerco Militar de Chalatenango" [Cristosal Warns of Arbitrary Arrests in Chalatenango Military Blockade]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ↑ Bernal, David (26 March 2024). ""Tenemos Más de Siete Años Sin Pandillas y Teníamos Muchos Años de no Reportar Hechos de Violencia": Habitantes en Cerco de Chalatenango" ["We Have More than Six Years Without Gangs and We Had Many Years Without Reporting Acts of Violence]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  12. ↑ Lemus, Lissette (26 March 2024). "Bloque de Izquierda Exige el Retiro de la Tropa en Cerco Militar de Chalatenango" [Leftist Bloc Demands the Withdrawal of Troops in the Chalatenango Military Blockade]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Guzmán, Jessica (27 March 2024). "Ministro Dice Bukele Ordenó Cerco Militar; ARENA Cuestiona si Ejerce la Presidencia" [Minister Says Bukele Ordered the Military Blockade; ARENA Questions If He Controls the Presidency]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
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