SALVADORAN authorities arrested yesterday the mayor of Soyapango, a city currently besieged by the military in its war against drug gangs, the attorney-general’s office said, with the official accused of corruption.

“In compliance with our mission to watch over the interests of society, tonight, an arrest warrant was executed for the mayor of Soyapango, in an operation coordinated with the police,” the country’s Attorney-General’s Office said on Twitter.

Nercy Montano is accused of embezzling public funds, breaching her duties to the detriment of public administration and misappropriation of labour quotas.

Since the beginning of this month, 8,500 soldiers and 1,500 police officers have surrounded Soyapango, the third-largest city in the country, located on the outskirts of the capital San Salvador.

The military siege was set up as part of President Nayib Bukele’s war against criminal gangs.

Two other neighbourhoods in the Salvadoran capital have also been surrounded by at least 2,000 soldiers since December 24.

For the past fortnight, Montano had been facing protests by mayoral workers who were demanding the payment of back wages and other labour benefits.

As part of the protests, the workers stopped collecting garbage in the city.

The detained mayor is part of the Nuevas Ideas party, which is the government’s most important ally in Congress.

Bukele, referring to the mayor’s arrest on his Twitter account, said fighting corruption “is a necessity” that is “unavoidable”.

“We have to uproot the bad, so that the good can grow,” he said. – AFP, December 29, 2022.