Dubbed "Trigger IX", it was the biggest firearms operation ever coordinated by Interpol.
An upcoming documentary reveals how European buccaneers plundered the Gulf of Fonseca between the 16-17th centuries.
"It gives one chills," says Colombian President Gustavo Petro of new high-security prison built by his El Salvador counterpart Nayib Bukele in "war against gangs."
President Nayib Bukele, who has declared a "war" on gangs, claims Center for the Confinement of Terrorism is largest mega-prison in Americas.
Authorities arrested Nercy Montano, the mayor of Soyapango city, which is currently besieged by the military as part of the Salvadoran president's war against criminal gangs.
House-by-house searches for gang members continue as President Nayib Bukele's government declared a state of emergency to combat criminal groups earlier this year.
Two NGOs document arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment of detainees over the last nine months, during which President Nayib Bukele's government has rounded up over 59,000 suspected gang members.
El Salvador's government continues to step up its fight against criminal groups after declaring a state of emergency in March and arresting more than 58,000 suspected gang members.
Since March, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele orders the arrest of more than 50,000 suspected gang members, whom he calls terrorists, in an attempt to reduce the country's homicide rate.
Authorities had already removed gang graffiti in neighbourhoods throughout the Central American country, but breaking up gang members' tombstones is a new step and comes as some residents visited cemeteries for Day of the Dead.
The wave of detentions is unprecedented in the country of 6.5 million people, which has suffered decades of violent crime driven by powerful gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.
The Environment Ministry warns of a high likelihood of urban flooding, rivers overtopping their banks and the swamping of agricultural land.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2023 TRT World.