A El Salvadorian court has tried six Mexican men accused of drug trafficking. transfer of 809 kilograms of cocaineworth more than $20 million, prosecutors said Thursday.

The men who were to have a preliminary hearing in a drug trafficking case they were captured in May 2022. parts of the Tridente Naval Forces in the waters of the Salvadoran Pacific Ocean.

The accused have been identified as Noe Mendoza Lopez, Gabino Elorza Santos, Jesus Garcia Mendoza, Gildardo Lavarriaga Rodriguez, Jesus Daet Nikanov Rodriguez and José Martín Ojeda Santos, the health ministry said.

The waters of the Salvadoran Pacific sometimes act as a bridge for drug trafficking entities to transport drugs, especially cocaine, to North America.

According to the 2020 report International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)drug trafficking in Central America and the Caribbean contributes to an already very high level of violence in the region due to competition between criminal gangs.

INCB insists that “local gangs and international criminal groups continue to exploit the Central American and Caribbean region as a transit and drug re-shipment route from South America and intended for the consumer markets of North America and Europe.

This week, El Salvador ended the year under Exception Statusapproved with the aim of eradicating banditry in the country and which, although accompanied by a sharp decrease in the number of murders, caused a flurry of criticism from the authorities and international organizations, calling into question the lack of democratic guarantees and respect for human rights. measures.

The UN said it understood that insecurity was a “big problem” for El Salvador, but spokesman Marta Hurtado warned that any action taken against armed groups must respect human rightssomething that won’t always happen.