El Salvador: Car bomb explosion in La Libertad Feb. 11

Event

A car bomb detonated around 07:00 (local time) on Sunday, February 11, in the Santa Tecla municipality of La Libertad department. Police were responding to reports of an abandoned vehicle when they accidentally triggered the device. The car was located on Route 4, which leads to the port city of La Libertad, in the canton of Ayagualo. Two officers were injured in the explosion.

It remains unclear who planted the bombs; “terrorism” has not been ruled out. It is also unclear whether police were the intended targets.

Context

It should be noted that a number of Central American governments, including El Salvador, have legally classified gangs as terrorist elements. The country, including the capital San Salvador, continues to suffer from extremely high murder rates and other violent crime attributed to gangs, notably Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

Advice

Due to extremely high crime rates, individuals present in El Salvador are advised to maintain a low profile (conceal signs of wealth), drive with windows closed and doors locked, and keep in mind that criminals may be armed (do not resist if confronted, and do not look your attacker directly in the eye). Some Western governments advise against nonessential travel to various parts of the country due to these security concerns.