The interim Minister of Agriculture, Enrique Parada, confirmed on Tuesday that producers from the interior of the country have benefited from the extraordinary security measures provided by the Exception Regime, whose extension for 30 more days was approved this weekend by the Assembly Legislative.
According to the minister, the coffee sector has seen how the presence of the National Civil Police (PNC) accompanied by the Armed Forces has controlled the crimes of extortion committed by criminal structures.
“Extortion on the farms has been controlled. Now they will face justice. I spoke with coffee growers and they are happy, because they will save and invest the money that they previously handed over for extortion,” said the minister in the AM Interview on Channel 10.
The same results have been recorded among the owners of land or property located in rural areas of the country, who have been freed from the imposition of gang “rent” (extorsions).
For decades, producers of cattle or other livestock were added, whose businesses were affected by the crime of robbery and theft. Now, together with the legislative decree and reforms to the Penal Code, the punishment for this crime is up to 12 years in prison.
“One of the main problems was that criminal groups requested rent payments from farm owners. This problem has been eliminated from the root” — the official clarified in his intervention.
The results are the result of incursions by the Rural Police and the Armed Forces of El Salvador into farms, hamlets, and municipalities in the interior of the country.