El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced on Saturday the deployment of 10,000 security forces to Soyapango, a suburb of San Salvador known to be a stronghold for gangs.

Government-released footage shows troops carrying heavy weapons, helmets and bulletproof vests, and traveling in war vehicles.

The move is the latest escalation in a crusade against gang violence that began in March, which human rights groups say has been marred by unjustified detentions.

Since he began his plan to combat gangs, Bukele has ordered the arrest of more than 50,000 alleged gang members, whom he describes as terrorists and has denied basic procedural rights to.

The plan aims to reduce the Central American country's homicide rate to fewer than two a day, after dozens of Salvadorans were killed in a single weekend in March.

#elsalvador #troops #sansalvador #gangs #soyapango #bukele

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