El Salvador forces encircle neighborhoods in gang crackdown

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s security forces intensified their operations against the country’s street gangs Tuesday with mass arrests, the cordoning off of neighborhoods and house-by-house searches under a state of emergency sought by President Nayib Bukele.

The country’s relatively low murder rate during Bukele’s administration had been one of his most touted accomplishments. Even while some raised doubts about how it was obtained, the country had been living in peace compared to earlier periods of bloodshed.

That changed last weekend when 89 people were killed in a four-day span, compared to 79 in all of February. The Congress passed Bukele’s state of emergency early Sunday giving authorities broad latitude in making arrests and extending jail time while investigations are carried out.

Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told state television that in the past two days nearly 1,500 alleged gang members were captured “without firing a single shot.”

Only two murders were confirmed Monday compared to 62 on Saturday.

“I’ve been a victim of the gangs, I’ve paid them (extortion),” said Esteban Maravilla, who works in transportation. “They should lock them all up.”

Bukele enjoys extremely high popularity in El Salvador, but some heavy handed tactics have faced criticism.

Opposition politicians and nongovernmental organizations say security forces are going beyond even their newly enhanced powers.

Eduardo Escobar, director of the nongovernmental Citizen Action organization, noted that the state of emergency had not included restrictions on mobility, yet security forces had encircled some neighborhoods, controlling who entered and who left.

At an entrance to the San José El Pino neighborhood Tuesday, soldiers...