The Salvadoran military said the director of the national police, other senior police officials and a fleeing banker were among nine people killed in a military helicopter crash in a rural region of the country.
The investigation into the cause of Sunday night’s crash is ongoing. It happened after banker Manuel Coto was arrested in Honduras over the weekend and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the border.
Coto, the former director of the savings and credit cooperative COSAVI, was the subject of an Interpol arrest warrant and was one of 32 people involved in the embezzlement of more than $35 million by the cooperative’s directors and employees.
Coto was arrested Sunday while “driving with a human trafficker to the United States,” according to Honduran Security Minister Gustavo Sanchez.
The Salvadoran army reported on social media that the accident occurred in the area of San Eduardo, Pasaquina, La Unión. The director general of the National Civil Police, Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, was on board.
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According to public broadcaster Canal 10, David Cruz, head of communications for El Salvador’s Ministry of Security, was also killed in the crash. Others aboard the Salvadoran Air Force UH-1H helicopter included two high-ranking commissioners, a corporal, a sergeant and two lieutenant pilots, according to authorities and the Defense Ministry.
President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele said in a message on X that “what happened cannot remain a simple ‘accident'” and must be investigated thoroughly “and until the ultimate consequences. We will ask for international help.”
Bukele stressed that Arriaza Chicas had led the government’s fight against the gangs that once dominated the daily lives of much of the Salvadoran population. Bukele’s harsh crackdown on gangs and mass arrests of more than 80,000 people without due process have been condemned by human rights organizations.
“Your legacy will remain forever in our minds, your tireless dedication to the transformation of this country will live on in the hearts of thousands of Salvadorans,” Bukele wrote on social media.
Security expert Luis Contreras said Arriaza Chicas’ death was unlikely to have a negative impact on the war against gangs, which the government claims to have virtually eliminated.
“In El Salvador, there are many experienced people and police commissioners who could replace the late director,” Contreras said.
Contreras said the gangs no longer have the capacity to respond. “Crime is not eliminated, but rather neutralized,” he said. “The government of El Salvador has managed to neutralize the gangs by almost 90 percent.”
Bukele ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on Monday in memory of Arriaza Chicas, whom he described as a “national hero.”
“All flags, throughout the national territory, as well as in our embassies and consulates, will be at half-mast for three days in honor of the director of the National Civil Police,” Bukele said on social media.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the victims were transported to the capital in a caravan guarded by the police.
Bukele’s crackdown on gangs has attracted criticism from human rights groups but earned him very high approval ratings.
His supporters credit him with restoring a sense of normalcy to a society weary of violence.
Last year, the country recorded its lowest homicide rate in three decades, going from one of the deadliest countries in Latin America to one of the safest.
But this comes at a price.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have reported killings and torture of detainees, as well as thousands of innocent people – including minors – among those arrested.
According to Amnesty International, as of February 2018, more than 78,000 arbitrary detentions were recorded, leading to prison overcrowding of approximately 148%, and at least 235 deaths in custody were recorded. The organization also reported 327 enforced disappearances.
AFP contributed to this report.
