<p>The head of El Salvador's police forces and a man arrested on charges of a multi-million dollar embezzlement were killed when the military helicopter in which they were travelling crashed on Sunday night, the government said.</p><p>Seven other people also died in the crash in the Pasaquina district in the southeast of El Salvador near the border with Honduras.</p><p>Police director Mauricio Arriaza was escorting the former head of a credit union, Manuel Coto, back to El Salvador in the helicopter.</p><p>Coto, who was accused of embezzling $35 million, had been arrested earlier on Sunday in Honduras after attempting to flee to the United States. He was subsequently handed over to Salvadoran police.</p><p>The seven other people who died in the crash included three police officers, three servicemen and a Justice Ministry employee, according to the military and the ministry.</p>.Coast Guard helicopter crashes during rescue operation, three crew members missing.<p>Authorities have not provided any further details about the accident or its cause.</p><p>"What happened cannot remain a simple 'accident.' It must be investigated thoroughly and to its finality," President Nayib Bukele wrote on X.</p>.<p>He praised Arriaza for his contribution to national security and his roles in various police operations.</p><p>Bukele appointed Arriaza in 2019 to head up the national police. Arriaza has helped lead a nationwide crackdown on gangs that has driven down the country's homicide rate, but has also drawn criticism from human rights groups for the campaign's arbitrary arrests.</p><p>In 2022, Human Rights Watch called on other countries to impose travel bans and asset freezes against a series of high-level Salvadoran officials, including Arriaza, saying that while he was at the helm the national police "has been responsible for widespread human rights violation".</p><p>The US Ambassador to El Salvador, William Duncan, said on X he "sends condolences to the families, the police, the government and to all the Salvadorans for this terrible tragedy".</p>
<p>The head of El Salvador's police forces and a man arrested on charges of a multi-million dollar embezzlement were killed when the military helicopter in which they were travelling crashed on Sunday night, the government said.</p><p>Seven other people also died in the crash in the Pasaquina district in the southeast of El Salvador near the border with Honduras.</p><p>Police director Mauricio Arriaza was escorting the former head of a credit union, Manuel Coto, back to El Salvador in the helicopter.</p><p>Coto, who was accused of embezzling $35 million, had been arrested earlier on Sunday in Honduras after attempting to flee to the United States. He was subsequently handed over to Salvadoran police.</p><p>The seven other people who died in the crash included three police officers, three servicemen and a Justice Ministry employee, according to the military and the ministry.</p>.Coast Guard helicopter crashes during rescue operation, three crew members missing.<p>Authorities have not provided any further details about the accident or its cause.</p><p>"What happened cannot remain a simple 'accident.' It must be investigated thoroughly and to its finality," President Nayib Bukele wrote on X.</p>.<p>He praised Arriaza for his contribution to national security and his roles in various police operations.</p><p>Bukele appointed Arriaza in 2019 to head up the national police. Arriaza has helped lead a nationwide crackdown on gangs that has driven down the country's homicide rate, but has also drawn criticism from human rights groups for the campaign's arbitrary arrests.</p><p>In 2022, Human Rights Watch called on other countries to impose travel bans and asset freezes against a series of high-level Salvadoran officials, including Arriaza, saying that while he was at the helm the national police "has been responsible for widespread human rights violation".</p><p>The US Ambassador to El Salvador, William Duncan, said on X he "sends condolences to the families, the police, the government and to all the Salvadorans for this terrible tragedy".</p>