El Salvador authorities burn 2.7-ton pile of cocaine worth $67,000,000
Topics: Crime, World News, Drugs
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Attorney General of El Salvador
Topics: Crime, World News, Drugs
Can you imagine what $67.5 million worth of cocaine would like?
Well, unless you are some kind of drug lord, then you're probably never seen such a high quantity of the drug.
However, a video of El Salvador authorities burning a 2.7 ton pile of cocaine worth the massive amount does provide some indication.
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Police from the Central American country released images and video footage of the massive amounts of cocaine burn after they seized the narcotics from 'seven men in boats'.
They were found roughly 1,000 kilometres off the country’s coast last month.
Local authorities state that the cocaine was seized on May 10, as the country continues its hard crackdown on gangs and drug traffickers.
As part of the seizing mission, two Ecuadorian nationals, two Colombian nationals and three Mexican nationals were held.
So, what were officials going to do with 2.7 tons of cocaine?
Well, set it alight, of course.
The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of El Salvador said that the pile of cocaine was set alight on Monday (10 June) in the small town of Ilopango, just east of the country’s capital San Salvador.
The video of the cocaine being burnt sees officials lining up the drugs on the floor before setting it alight.
A small flame quickly turns into a massive fire, and the massive amount of cocaine has seen the end of its days.
As for the seven suspects found in possession of the large amounts of drugs, it's remains unclear exactly what charges or punishments they are facing.
Those familiar with the history of El Salvador will know that it had became infamous for drugs and gangs over the years.
According to Human Rights Watch, the official estimates of gang members ranged between 60,000 and 86,000.
But the local government has wanted to change all of that, and it appears they have made big steps.
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele hailed El Salvador as the 'safest' country on the continent last year.
So, how has El Salvador gone about making such drastic changes to the point where the president is now dubbing it the 'safest' country on the continent?
Just two years prior the president declared war on street gangs, leading to the arrest of tens of thousands of gang members, as per CBS.
A state of emergency was declared, leading to the military and police being deployed on to the streets following a spike in murders.
After he was re-elected in February for another five-year term, Bukele promised to continue the crackdown 'until we eradicate the little that still remains of the gangs'.