El Salvador launches anti-drug clampdown on Christmas Eve

El Salvador has launched a military operation against drug dealers and "terrorists" in Tutunichapa, a neighborhood of the capital, San Salvador, officials confirmed on Saturday.

About 1,000 soldiers and 130 police officers were deployed to the impoverished community at dawn, President Nayib Bukele wrote on Twitter.

"As of this morning, the Tutunichapa district in San Salvador is totally surrounded," Bukele posted.

"All terrorists, drug traffickers and gang members will be removed from this community. Honest citizens have nothing to fear and can continue to lead their lives normally," he added.

Six suspected criminals were arrested. The government said in a statement it had found firearms, over $10,000 in cash and "copious amounts of marijuana and crack packages."

Images released by the president's office showed heavily armed soldiers entering the neighborhood, where small houses mostly constructed of concrete blocks stand alongside a polluted stream.

Second raid on drug gangs in weeks

Saturday's raids were the second such operation this month against drug gangs in the Central American country.

Earlier in December, Bukele sent 8,500 soldiers and 1,500 police officers to surround Soyapango, a city near San Salvador and the country's third-largest urban area, with a population of nearly a quarter million people.

The siege of Soyapango saw armored military vehicles, some with artillery, carrying out constant patrols while heavily armed police searched houses and the public.

Bukele's government declared a state of emergency in March to quash gang violence and has since drastically cut the number of homicides.

Almost 60,000 suspected gang members have been arrested since then; about 500 were detained this month in Soyapango. Some human rights groups have accused security forces of carrying out abuses during their offensives.

mm/dj (AFP, Reuters)