The blockade of Soyapango was a Salvadoran government operation to arrest criminal gang members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street gang in the city of Soyapango. The operation began on 3 December 2022 when Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 10,000 members of the country's security forces surrounded the city. As of January 2023 the active phase of the blockade has been completed; however, security forces are still engaged in removing gang related symbols and the security setup in the area has been enhanced.[2]
| Blockade of Soyapango | |||
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| Part of the Salvadoran gang crackdown | |||
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| Date | 3–31 December 2022 (28 days) | ||
| Location | 13°42′35″N 89°08′19″W / 13.70972°N 89.13861°W | ||
| Resulted in | Government victory
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| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
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| Number | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Arrested | 1,300+ (as of June 2023)[1] | ||
Background
editOn 27 March 2022, the Salvadoran government declared a state of emergency following a spike in murders which resulted in 87 deaths between 25 and 27 March.[3] From March 2022 to November 2022, the government arrested a total of 58,096 people with alleged affiliations to the country's two largest criminal gangs: Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street gang.[4] The gang crackdown reduced gang activity significantly and reduced murders by an order of magnitude. However, it was criticized by foreign governments and human rights groups, claiming that the government was violating human rights and utilizing arbitrary arrests.[5][6]
Operation
edit| External video | |
|---|---|
 Bukele's tweet announcing the beginning of the blockade. |
On 3 December 2022, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 10,000 members of the country's security forces, composing of 8,500 soldiers and 1,500 police officers,[7] surrounded the city of Soyapango with the goal of arresting every gang member in the city. The soldiers blocked roads and searched homes for gang members, as well as checking identity documents from anyone leaving the city.[8] According to René Merino Monroy, the Minister of National Defense, a total of 185 people were arrested within the first three days of the operation.[9]
In the early morning of October 11, 2023, President Nayib Bukele announced a new deployment of security forces in the community of La Campanera, located in the district of Soyapango, in the department of San Salvador. This movement was in response to the homicide of a minor in that area the day before.[10]
The security deployment announced by Bukele also included the surrounding urbanizations of Popotlán and Valle Verde, located in the Apopa district. The operation included the sending of combined forces of the National Civil Police with a total of 500 elements and the Armed Forces of El Salvador with 3,500 troops.[11]
Reactions
editResidents of Soyapango reportedly supported the operation.[6][8][9]
References
edit- ^ Sandoval, Williams (23 May 2022). "Van 30 arrestos en cerco Nueva Concepción, según la PNC" [There are 30 arrests in the siege of Nueva Concepción, according to the PNC]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Eliminan grafitis en el municipio de soyapango".
- ^ "El Salvador Declares State of Emergency After Gang Killings". Al Jazeera. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Ministerio de Seguridad [@SeguridadSV] (21 November 2022). "Desde que dio inicio el #RégimenDeExcepción, hemos capturado a más de 58 mil terroristas. No nos vamos a detener en esta #GuerraContraPandillas hasta limpiar por completo nuestro país. #Seguimos 👊🏻" [Since the start of the #StateofException, we have captured more than 58 thousand terrorists. We will not hold back in this #WarAgainstGangs until we clean our country. #WeContinue 👊🏻] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "El Salvador Anti-Gang Measures 'a Success' as 17,000 Held". BBC. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ a b Brigida, Anna-Cat (12 December 2022). "El Salvador Crackdown Could Prompt Gangs to "Adapt and Reshuffle"". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ Román, Marielos (5 December 2022). "Relato: Soyapango Continúa Militarizada" [Related: Soyapango Continues to be Militarized]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ a b Murphy, Matt (4 December 2022). "El Salvador: Thousands of Troops Surround City in Gang Crackdown". BBC. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ a b "El Salvador Rounds up 185 in Major Gang Crackdown". France 24. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/encuentran-cadaver-nina-reparto-la-campanera-soyapango/1095505/2023/
- ^ https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1712115762142298176
Further reading
edit- "Cae Terroristas de la MS-13 en Soyapango" [MS-13 Terrorists Fall in Soyapango]. Diario la Huella (in Spanish). 16 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- Fernández, Belén (8 December 2022). "El Salvador's War on Itself: The Siege of Soyapango". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 December 2022.