El Salvador sends police, soldiers to patrol border
Posted September 12, 2019 8:24 am.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador is deploying 800 police and soldiers to patrol blind spots along its borders where migrant smugglers and transnational criminals operate.
Justice and Public Safety Minister Rogelio Rivas said Thursday that the contingent will be joined by about 100 immigration agents. It will target criminal structures that traffic people, in addition to violent groups who force Salvadorans to flee the country.
The deployment begins in La Hachadura along the country’s border with Guatemala and is part of an agreement between the Salvadoran government and acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to slow the flow of migrants trying to reach the United States.
Cesar Ríos, who leads the country’s immigration agency, says that Salvadorans carrying their documents will continue to be allowed to leave the country without restrictions.
The Associated Press
