(Bloomberg) Police in El Salvador used emergency powers to round up nearly 600 suspected gang members after criminals unleashed a killing spree over the weekend that spread terror across the Central American nation.
By Simon Lewis and Nelson Renteria WASHINGTON/SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday targeted foreign government officials and companies it accused of corruption, including senior figures in El Salvador and Guatemal.
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are preparing criminal charges against El Salvador's deputy justice minister Osiris Luna and another senior official, accusing them of negotiating a secret truce with gangs, two sources said, amid rising tensions between Washington and President Nayib Bukele's government.
The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday targeted foreign government officials and companies it accused of corruption, including senior figures in El Salvador and Guatemala involved in their countries’ COVID-19 responses.
Thursday’s action, the latest in a series of sanctions announcements in the week of US President Joe Biden’s democracy summit targeted 15 individuals and entities across countries in Central America, Africa and Europe, the Treasury said.
“Corrupt acts take resources from citizens, undermine public trust, and threaten the progress of those who fight for democracy,” US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Those targeted include Salvadoran Chief
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned two officials with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele s cabinet of negotiated a truce with gang leaders in exchange for benefits.