Blockade of the Cabañas Department

Blockade of Cabañas
Blockade of Cabañas
Part of the Salvadoran gang crackdown
	Salvadoran Army troops in the surroundings of the department
Date	1 August 2023 – 1 January 2024 (5 months)
Location	Cabañas Department
Parties
Salvadoran government Salvadoran Army; National Civil Police;	Criminal gangs MS-13; Barrio 18;
Lead figures
	Nayib Bukele; René Merino Monroy; Mauricio Arriaza; Gustavo Villatoro; No centralized leadership
Number
7,000 soldiers; 1,000 police officers	Unknown
Casualties and losses
None	298 suspected gang members captured ; 2 gang members killed; 50+firearms recovered along with ammunition and explosives; 56 vehicles recovered ; 12 phones recovered; $760 cash seized; ; Unspecified quantities of drugs confiscated

The blockade of the Cabañas Department (Spanish: Cerco Cabañas) was a military operation in El Salvador during the Salvadoran gang crackdown which started on 1 August 2023, when Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 7,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) and 1,000 police officers of the National Civil Police (PNC) had surrounded the department of Cabañas to capture gang members.