Authorities in El Salvador dismantle smuggling ring, arrest 10 including 2 police officers

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Police in El Salvador on Tuesday arrested 10 people accused of operating a migrant smuggling ring that charged migrants up to US$15,000 for the promise of safe travel to the U.S.

Two of the alleged smugglers, or "coyotes," arrested were active members of the Salvadoran national police, the Attorney General's Office said. Another was an ex-officer.

The raid was coordinated between police in the capital, San Salvador, and two other cities, Santa Ana in the west and San Miguel in the east of the country, respectively. Police also seized four vehicles and more than a dozen cellphones.

According to an investigation opened in July 2022, the smugglers trafficked migrants through blind spots on the Guatemalan border, then through Mexico and the U.S., charging between US$12,000 and US$15,000 per person.

The attorney general's office said they began investigating after at least 33 migrants reported they had paid for transport, but were not taken to the U.S.

El Salvador is turning to novel strategies to deter migration, as the U.S. steps up pressure to control the flow of people to its southern border. Since the end of October, for example, citizens of 57 mostly African countries arriving in the country have been charged a US$1,130 "airport improvement" fee.

Aviation authorities would not say whether the fee was designed to deter migrants, many of whom are known to use Nicaragua as a transit point because of its lax visa requirements.