El Salvador conducts anti-drug military operation on Christmas Eve

FILE PHOTO: Salvadoran soldiers take part in a ceremony to receive personal protective equipment for military personnel deployed in the fifth phase of the Territorial Control plan in San Salvador, El Salvador, December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -El Salvador started Christmas Eve with a military operation against drug dealers in a San Salvador community, the government said on Saturday, part of the country's controversial attempt to fight criminal gangs.

The government deployed 1,000 soldiers and around 130 police officers who have been participating since dawn in an operation in the impoverished Tutunichapa community, President Nayib Bukele said on Twitter.