10,000 police and soldiers to seal off entire El Salvador town in search for gang members | World News

El Salvador’s government sent 10,000 police and soldiers to blockade a town on the outskirts of the country’s capital to track down gang members.

President Nayib Bukele has been cracking down on street gangs that extort businesses and have ruled many neighborhoods of the capital San Salvador for the past nine months.

The latest operation is one of the largest in the Central American country.

The military checks people’s papers as they block the roads in and out of Soyapango town, while special teams enter the town to search for gang suspects.

“Starting now, the town of Soyapango is completely surrounded,” Bukele wrote on Twitter.

He also shared videos showing the ranks of soldiers carrying rifles.

More than 58,000 people have been jailed since a state of emergency was declared following a wave of murders in late March.

The mass raids have been condemned by human rights activists, who say young men are often arrested based on their looks, age or where they live in a gang-dominated slum.

The right to association, the right to be informed of the reasons for the arrest and to have access to a lawyer are all suspended by decree. The government can also intercept the calls or correspondence of anyone considered a suspect.

An individual can now be detained without charge for 15 days after being extended from three days.

The gangs in El Salvador have an estimated 70,000 members in their ranks and have long controlled much of the territory, extorting money and killing people with impunity.

But earlier this month, Mr. Bukele’s crackdown reached another level when his government sent prisoners into the cemetery to destroy the graves of gang members at that time of year when the Families often visit the graves of their loved ones.

Several thousand human rights violations and at least 80 deaths in custody have been counted so far in the crackdown by NGOs.