Seeing soldiers on the streets does not mean that Salvadoran society is militarized, the armed forces only support the national police in security tasks, the opposition only tries to influence the international community, said the vice admiral of the navy.
Merino inspected areas of the fence the authorities are maintaining over the Tutunichapa community as part of Phase V of the Territorial Control Plan (PCT), which has been in effect since December 3 by Bukele’s decision.
During his tour of the area, the soldier received support from local residents for reducing homicides, extortion, robberies and other crimes affecting the population, according to a statement from the President’s House.
The minister assured that the trust of the population is now notorious, which was not the case before, when the security forces only represented repression.
The population is happy and we can see the results. It has been possible to reduce the presence of gang members in communities, and the issue of extortion has also been radically reduced, he stressed.
Merino said the fences erected in Tutunichapa and La Granjita will be maintained to continue the crackdown on organized crime.
Now the population in these places lives in a different environment. Local institutions also support area restoration activities, such as road restoration, Merino said.
He asserted that the PCT is not about oppressing and reclaiming territory, but also about opening up opportunities for people, preventing young people from re-engaging in gangs and enabling people to get involved.
He highlighted that nine out of ten Salvadorans positively evaluated the work being done on public safety to bring peace and tranquility to families, according to the CID Gallup Polling Station.
The Secretary of Defense pointed out that in 2023 all gang members will continue to be removed from the streets and security fences will be erected in all places where necessary until the final extraction of these criminals is achieved.
Merino also highlighted the number of days (169) without a homicide in the country in 2022, reaching a rate of 7.8 deaths from this cause per 100,000 people. There are challenges, he stressed, that we must maintain and overcome.
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