SAN SALVADOR, El salvador
Heavily-armed police and soldiers in El
Salvador have forced their way into parliament, demanding the approval of a
$109m (£85m) loan to better equip them.
They entered the building as President Nayib Bukele was
about to address lawmakers. Earlier, he gave them seven days to back his loan
plan.
Opposition politicians called the appearance of armed men
in parliament an unprecedented act of intimidation.
El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the
world.
Most of the violence is carried out by criminal gangs that
operate across Central America.
President Bukele took office in June 2019, pledging to
tackle the legacy of gang violence and corruption in the impoverished Central
American nation.
The 38-year-old leader wants to use the loan to improve the
equipment of police and the armed forces in the fight against crime.
In particular, the funds would be used to buy police
vehicles, uniforms, surveillance equipment and a helicopter.
 |
| President Nayib Bukele |
But over the weekend, most Members of Parliament opted not
to sit for a debate over the proposed bill.
With no quorum in parliament, the president called on his
supporters to descend on the parliament building, the BBC's Central America
correspondent Will Grant reports.
About 50,000 pro-government demonstrators turned out.
President Bukele told them to be back in the streets within
a week if MPs did not debate the bill.
His political opponents accused him of threatening them and
turning increasingly authoritarian. - BBC
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