MS13 suspect held with marijuana for third time in Ciudad Arce
Police and soldiers detained Walner Edenilson Quijada Cortez, alias Roro, an alleged member of an MS13 clique, in Ciudad Arce, La Libertad Centro, and found marijuana on him. He is to face charges of illicit association and drug possession and holding, having been released under the minors' law after arrests in 2022 and 2023.
🇸🇻 Ciudad Arce, La Libertad Centro, El Salvador
·
Arrested
1
Agencies
National Civil Police, Armed Forces of El Salvador
Police and soldiers detained Walner Edenilson Quijada Cortez, alias Roro, in
Ciudad Arce in La Libertad Centro shortly before midnight on Wednesday and found
marijuana on him.[1]Police describe him as a suspected member of the
Zapotitanes Criminals Salvatruchos clique of the MS13 gang.[2]
He is to be sent to the courts on charges of illicit association and of
possession and holding of drugs.[1]According to the police, Quijada Cortez
had been arrested in 2022 and 2023, when he was still a minor, and released both
times under the minors’ law by juvenile judges.[2]The arrest was the third in
four years for Quijada Cortez, Diario1 reported.[3]The authorities did not
give the exact charges in the two earlier detentions, or the amount of marijuana
found this time.[1]
Police presented the arrest as part of a joint police and armed forces strategy
against organised crime in La Libertad, a region where criminal groups have long
been present.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Agencies
National Civil Police; Armed Forces of El Salvador
Agency type
Police, Military
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Possession
Charges
illicit association; possession and holding of drugs
Case stage
Charged
Region
La Libertad Centro
Sources
Infobaeinfobae.comESCapturan a presunto pandillero por agrupaciones ilícitas y posesión de droga en El Salvador
Diario1diario1.comESCapturan pandillero con historial delictivo juvenil en Ciudad Arce
Open questions the AI reported
No weight, number of portions or value was published for the marijuana, so no cannabis quantity or value is recorded.
Infobae dates the arrest to the night of Wednesday 8 April 2026 and Diario El Salvador published the same day; only the years of the two earlier arrests (2022, 2023) are known.
The reports give no exact charges for the 2022 and 2023 detentions and no court outcome for the current case.
El Salvador's Attorney General's Office and National Civil Police arrested a 41-year-old man at his home in the residencial Santa Teresa in Santa Tecla, La Libertad Sur, on 6 November 2026, seizing portions of marijuana and cocaine along with grinders, pipes, a scale and two phones. Police said he would be sent to the courts for illicit drug trafficking; no weights or court outcome were reported.
National Civil Police agents arrested César Danilo López Hernández, 34, inside a higher-education centre in San Salvador on 6 November 2026, saying he carried marijuana and cash hidden in a backpack and tried to flee. Police did not identify the university or give the amount of marijuana or money, and said he will be referred for possession and holding with intent to traffic.
El Salvador's Attorney General's Office and National Civil Police carried out five raids in San Salvador Centro and arrested a man and a woman accused of forcing minors to sell drugs, with a third arrest warrant outstanding. Investigators said the case began in October 2026 when a 15-year-old caught selling drugs told officers adults beat him and made him distribute the substances.
El Salvador's National Civil Police arrested 21-year-old Ederson Stanley Santos Bermúdez in the Mejicanos district of San Salvador Centro on 4 November 2026 and seized several bags of marijuana it said were prepared for sale, plus a mobile phone. He was to be referred for possession and holding of drugs, with no weight or court outcome reported.
