El Salvador: Hundreds of handcuffed gang members paraded on streets
Hundreds of handcuffed gang members were, on Nov 28, paraded in front of media reporters in El Salvador as a part of president’s new policy of tackling crime.
Hundreds of handcuffed gang members were, on November 28, paraded in front of media reporters in El Salvador as a part of president’s new policy of tackling the rising crimes in the Central American country. As many as 600 members of rival gangs Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 constituted the marching detainees, who were all convicted on November 27 of crimes including murders, rapes and human trafficking amongst others. El Slavador, which houses nearly seven million people has over 10 per cent of its total population involved in gang crimes, according to a report by The Guardian.
Nayib Bukele, who was elected the country’s president in 2019, has opted for the tough way to punish gang members. However, his policy had attracted ire by rights group earlier this year, after he shared photographs of hundreds of semi-naked jailed gang members, pressed tightly together in rows, despite the raging pandemic. Meanwhile, the country’s Security Minister Rogelio Rivas called the majority of the newly-detained “terrorists” in his remarks at the parade.
Credits: sayantansunnyg/Twitter
Recently surfaced photographs of the new detainees show them assembled in an open-air plaza by heavily-armed soldiers. Nearly all the detainees could be seen donning a mask to prevent COVID-19infection and sporting tattoos, a common practice amongst gang members. According to official data, there are over 25 thousand separate gangs operating the country plague by crime, drugs and poverty.
US-backed raids
Earlier this week, the country's police along with those in Guatemala and Honduras rounded up hundreds of suspected street gang members as part of a U.S.-backed effort known as “Operation Regional Shield.” Later, the US Department of Justice noted that authorities in El Salvador and Honduras arrested three dozen suspected immigrant traffickers, AP reported. Those arrested in Honduras immigrant smuggling ring include a police commissioner, a deputy inspector and three other law enforcement agents.
Image: Pulitzer Centre
Published By : Riya Baibhawi
Published On: 29 November 2020 at 17:10 IST