El Salvador gang 'war' chief killed in helicopter crash

The director general of El Salvador's Police Department, Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, was killed when an Air Force helicopter in which he was traveling, crashed in the eastern municipality of Pasaquina, La Union.

All those aboard the UH-1H also died with him on Monday, including Manuel Coto, a former manager of a credit directive who was returning to the country after being detained over the weekend in Honduras.

The cause of the incident is unknown. President Nayib Bukele maintained that the episode will not remain "a simple 'accident," but that it will be "investigated thoroughly and to the last consequences." He assured that he would ask for international help.

Bukele highlighted Chicas as a "fundamental piece" in his security strategy, one of the main flags of his administration. "A loyal and incorruptible man, who fought against everything, even when no one believed we could win, and we won," he wrote. "Farewell my friend."

Defense Minister René Francis Merino Monroy said goodbye with similar words, highlighting his role as "strategist" of the National Civil Police:

Chicas was promoted by Bukele to the leadership of the Police in 2019, his first year in office. Since then, insecurity rates have plummeted, so much so that the 'millennial president' claims he has turned his country into the safest in the West.

The government's strategy of mega-prisons, states of exception and armed war against gangs led the ruling party to sweep the presidential elections in February.

Other countries in the region, such as Ecuador and Argentina, have begun to emulate it.