Latest news El Salvador police chief dies in crash

According to official reports, all nine occupants of a military helicopter crashed in El Salvador, including the Central American country's top police chief. Commissioner General Mauricio Arriaza was a key figure in the fight against violent gangs in the country, announced President Nayib Bukele. The government will ask for international support in clarifying the cause of the accident.

"What happened must not remain a simple "accident", but must be investigated thoroughly and down to the last consequences," Bukele wrote on Platform X. The helicopter was on its way from El Amatillo on the border with Honduras to the capital San Salvador when it crashed in the middle of the night in the eastern town of San Eduardo. According to media reports, there was a heavy thunderstorm at the scene of the accident at the time of the accident.

Police officers and soldiers had previously picked up the fugitive former head of the credit association Cosavi at the border, who had been arrested in neighboring Honduras for fraud and money laundering. In addition to the police chief and the arrested man, three police officers, three members of the armed forces and a journalist were also on board the crashed plane, according to the authorities. As a sign of mourning, Bukele ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast throughout the country and at embassies abroad.

In the fight against the gangs - the so-called maras - a state of emergency with restrictions on basic rights has been in force in El Salvador since March 2022. Since then, more than 80,000 suspected gang members have been arrested by the police. The murder rate has fallen significantly and, according to the president, the country is now the safest in Latin America. However, activists denounce arbitrary arrests, torture and the deaths of numerous people in the custody of the authorities.

SDA