Munguía Payés arrested in El Salvador (July 24, 2020)
Former Salvadoran defense minister General David Munguía Payés was arrested yesterday on suspicion of unlawful association and other crimes linked to the arrangement of a 2012-2014 truce between crime gangs. An arrest warrant was also issued for former Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes.
Attorney General Raúl Melara alleged that Munguía and Funez organized a pact between two rival gangs - Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 - in order to reduce the number of homicides between 2012 and 2014, in exchange for providing undisclosed benefits to the criminal organizations, reports Reuters.
When Munguía was previously called to testify in another case related to the pact, he said that it was public policy born in Funes’ security cabinet, reports the Associated Press. Munguía and Funes were not charged in a previous case that accused other officials of crimes in relation to the pact.
Melara said Munguía was preparing to flee ahead of yesterday's detention, reports El Diario de Hoy.
Funes, who has been in Nicaragua since 2016 and claims he is a victim of political persecution in El Salvador, denied any involvement in the gang pact. “I never met with gangsters and nor did I order any official to do so,” Funes wrote on Twitter. “I never ordered nor authorized prison privileges for any gang member.”
News Briefs
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Bolivia
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