The chief of El Salvador’s national police, Mauricio Arriaza has died alongside 8 others who died when the military helicopter they were travelling in crashed in the Central American nation on Sunday evening local time.
The Salvadoran military in a statement on Monday, said a Salvadoran Air Force helicopter carrying the police chief, crashed in an eastern region of the country near the border with Honduras
The passengers on the helicopter included Manuel Coto, the former head of a credit union, the military said. Mr. Coto, who was arrested in Honduras over the weekend, has been accused of money laundering in El Salvador. Mr. Coto was being transported back to El Salvador.
The suspect, fugitive former bank director Manuel Coto, had been accused of involvement in the embezzlement of $35m (£27m) from a credit union in El Salvador.
Mr Arriaza had travelled to the Honduran border to take Mr Coto into custody.
Honduran officials said police had captured the former bank director as he was trying to make his way to the US with the help of a people-smuggler.
News of his arrest caused surprise and confusion as it was not widely known that he had been on the run.
In fact, the Salvadorean authorities had announced back in July that Mr Coto had been detained in Panama.
It is not clear how he came to be in Honduras.
Mr Coto was one of 32 people accused of embezzlement and money laundering over the disappearance of $35m from the coffers of the COSAVI credit union.
El Salvador’s attorney-general accused the group of siphoning off money from people’s savings and using it to buy luxury flats and cars, among other items.
In total, 15 people have been detained in connection with the case. Among them are Mr Coto’s parents.
Mr. Arriaza Chicas served as police chief under President Nayib Bukele, a popular leader who easily won re-election in February on the strength of a contentious crackdown on gangs.
On Monday, Mr. Bukele said on social media that the helicopter crash could not be considered a mere “accident,” though he provided no evidence of foul play. He said his government would ask for international help with an investigation.
“Director Arriaza Chicas was a fundamental piece in bringing peace and security to our people,” Mr. Bukele wrote.
El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, once had one of the world’s highest homicide rates outside of a war zone. That changed after Mr. Bukele swept to power in a 2019 election and declared a state of emergency to quell gang violence.
The campaign against violence produced a crackdown on civil liberties. Mr. Bukele’s government has jailed thousands of innocent people, suspended key civil liberties indefinitely, and flooded the streets with soldiers.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a 2022 report that he was “responsible for widespread human rights violations during the state of emergency”.
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