René Merino Monroy

René Francis Merino Monroy (born 30 December 1963) is a Salvadoran military officer who currently serves as the Minister of National Defense. He was appointed to the position by President Nayib Bukele in June 2019, becoming the first officer from the Salvadoran Navy to serve as minister of defense.

Merino entered the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School in 1986. He graduated in 1990 and was appointed to various administrative positions at the La Unión Naval Base and the Naval Force Headquarters. From 1995 to 2010, Merino transferred between various command positions and continued his military education both domestically and abroad. Merino held more administrative positions from 2011 to 2014 at the La Unión Naval Base and the Center for Naval Education and Instruction. He was the Chief of the Navy General Staff from January 2015 until his appointment to minister of defense in June 2019.

As minister of defense, Merino has supported Bukele's security policies, most notably the implementations of both the Territorial Control Plan, a government anti-crime and anti-gang security program, and the nationwide gang crackdown which has since resulted in the arrests of over 72,000 suspected gang members since March 2022. Merino was also involved in the 2020 political crisis when 40 soldiers were sent into the Legislative Assembly during an extraordinary session convened by Bukele. Merino's rank promotions to rear admiral in 2019 and vice admiral in 2020 resulted in controversy from lawyers regarding the maximum age for which military promotions are permitted by the Military Career Law.