El Salvador is launching the fourth phase of the so-called Territorial Control Plan (PCT), a multi-step initiative to combat gang violence and improve security in the country, President Nayib Bukele said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2021) El Salvador is launching the fourth phase of the so-called Territorial Control Plan (PCT), a multi-step initiative to combat gang violence and improve security in the country, President Nayib Bukele said on Tuesday.
"We are ending the meeting with the High Command of our Armed Forces of El Salvador, refining details of Phase 4 of the Territorial Control Plan that will begin today. It will take five years to fully implement Phase 4, but we will begin to see its fruits from today," Bukele said on Twitter.
The PCT was launched in June 2019. Phase 1 entailed increasing military and police presence in the 17 municipalities with the largest gang and crime presence. Phase 2, which began in July 2019, was focused on building community-centered preventive strategies that were supposed to create alternative opportunities for young people predisposed to criminal activity.
There is a total of seven phases in the PCT, with the seventh reserved as an emergency option in case the initial six do not succeed. The government expects the costs to amount to $575 million by the end of 2021.
This initiative was put forward by Bukele and initially did not receive the support of the National Assembly, which considered the costs too high.
