Over 700 people in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras were arrested on charges including terrorism, murder, kidnapping and extortion. The US-backed operations primarily targeted the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs.
Image: Salvador Melendez/AP Photo/AP Images/picture alliance
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Authorities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras arrested several hundred suspected street gang members in sweeping raids this week, officials announced on Friday.
The cross-border law enforcement actions were part of a US-backed effort called "Operation Regional Shield."
"The US Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners in Central America are committed to continued collaboration in locating and arresting gang members and associates engaged in transnational crimes," said US Attorney General William Bar in a statement.
Terrorism, murder, kidnapping charges
In El Salvador, criminal charges were filed against more than 1,150 suspected members of organized crime groups, primarily related to MS-13 and 18th Street gangs.
By Friday, the country's national civil police arrested 572 of the suspects on charges including terrorism, murder, kidnapping, money laundering and human trafficking among others.
Guatemala arrested 40 people after executing 80 search warrants. Arrest warrants were served to 29 people already in custody. The US Department of Justice said all of the people involved in Guatemala were members of MS-13 or the 18th Street gang.
During the raids in Guatemala, police seized drugs and filed charges for extortion, illicit association, conspiracy to commit murder and extortive obstruction.
In Honduras, police arrested 75 members of the same two gangs and carried out more than 10 search warrants. Five law enforcement agents, including a police commissioner, were among those arrested in the operations in Honduras.
Honduras: Land of gangs and violence
Criminal gangs pose an existential threat to state and society in Honduras. For many, the only option is to flee.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
One of most violent countries in the world
Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2011-2012, there were 86 homicides per 100,000 people. That amounted to 7,172 murders a year in a country of some 9 million people. In 2018, the homicide rate fell to 40 per 100,000 people, according to government statistics. In comparison, in 2015 there were some 5,000 homicides in the EU, where the population is 500 million.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Gang-fueled violence
There are as many as 40,000 gang members in Honduras. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio-18 (members pictured here) are the two main criminal groups engaging in turf wars over drug and human trafficking, extortion and other criminal enterprises.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Pushing people out
The wave of violence, gang control and erosion of state authority has pushed tens of thousands of people out of neighborhoods where funeral processions are all too common. Many families fear that their children will be recruited into gangs as early as the age of 11. Many of those who can will often try to make the dangerous and hard journey through Mexico to the United States.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Existential threat
Gang-fueled violence and criminality have torn apart Honduran society and the authority of the state. According to a report by the US National Defense University, MS-13 has become a "criminal-economic-military-political power that poses an existential threat" to the state of Honduras. The group has infilrated key state institutions, including the police, military, judiciary and political system.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Police patrols
In Honduras, MS-13 has been known to corrupt and infiltrate local police. The group has expanded with the aid of police forces who have reportedly targeted and cleared neighborhoods controlled by rival groups. Police and security forces sacked for corruption are said to join gangs or train gang members.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
No justice
The corrupt and dysfunctional criminal system fuels more violence. Around 80 percent of homicides are not investigated and 96 percent are not adjudicated.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Fleeing north
Thousands of Hondurans have tried to make the hard journey north. Many are innocent civilians seeking a better and safer life. However, US authorities say some gang members are trying to infiltrate the United States. At the same time, an influx of gang members being deported from the United States is strengthening gang numbers in Honduras as they are incorporated into structures there.
Image: Reuters/A. Latif
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Cross-border cooperation
The attorney general's office in El Salvador said the raids were part of the fourth phase of the US-backed operation, which saw cross-border cooperation between the three Central American countries involved.
The MS-13 and 18th Street gangs are considered some of the most dangerous criminal organizations from Central America and are a cause for much of the violence in the region. The gangs have also spread to the United States, with President Donald Trump making combating MS-13 a priority for his administration.
