SAN SALVADOR, Jul 17 (Reuters) – Salvadoran police have arrested more than a hundred Colombians for their alleged involvement in the operation of a microfinance scheme that laundered money from drug trafficking and gang activities, police officials said on Monday. security.
According to officials, the criminal group provided loans, using illegally obtained funds, to individuals and small businesses at 20% interest.
The government of President Nayib Bukele has taken a hard line on gangs since last year, jailing some 70,000 suspects in a massive roundup that has also led to a sharp drop in violent crime.
Yet the anti-gang push, denounced by many human rights groups, has given Bukele sky-high approval ratings ahead of his re-election bid early next year.
Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told reporters at a news conference that when victims of the financial scheme could not pay, the group intimidated them into giving up their bank account information, which he said they used to move money abroad.
An estimated $20 million in money linked to drug gangs has been sent to Colombia since 2021 under the scheme, Delgado added.
“Colombians are our brothers,” Bukele wrote in a Monday post on Twitter. “However, these people will have to face Salvadoran justice.”
Colombia’s foreign ministry said it was in talks with its embassy and consulate in El Salvador about the arrests, but offered no further comment on the charges facing Colombian citizens.
Three Salvadorans, a Guatemalan and an Argentine were also arrested in the operation, according to a breakdown of nationalities provided by the president’s office.
Reporting by Nelson Rentería in San Salvador; Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin in Bogotá Writing by Kylie Madry Editing by David Alire García and Matthew Lewis
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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