The Salvadoran military has confirmed that the director of the National Civil Police, Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, and other high-ranking police officials, along with a fugitive banker, were among nine individuals killed in a military helicopter crash in a rural area of the country.

The crash, which occurred on Sunday night, is currently under investigation. It happened shortly after the banker, Manuel Coto, was apprehended in Honduras over the weekend and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the border.

Coto, formerly the manager of the COSAVI savings and loan cooperative, was the subject of an Interpol arrest warrant and one of 32 individuals implicated in the embezzlement of over $35 million by the cooperative’s directors and employees.

El Salvador’s military, in a post on X, stated that the air force helicopter crashed near San Eduardo, Pasaquina, La Union. They confirmed that the National Civil Police director and two of his deputies were on board.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, in a post on X, expressed that the incident “cannot remain as a simple ‘accident'” and must be investigated thoroughly “and to the ultimate consequences. We will request international help.”

Bukele acknowledged that Arriaza Chicas had led the government’s efforts in combating the gangs that had previously dominated everyday life for a significant portion of the Salvadoran population. Bukele’s stringent crackdown on gangs and mass arrests of over 80,000 individuals, with limited due process, have been condemned by human rights organizations.

Security specialist Luis Contreras stated that it is unlikely that Arriaza Chicas’ death will have a negative impact on the war against gangs, which the government claims to have all but eradicated.

“In El Salvador, there are many experienced individuals and police commissioners who could replace the late director,” Contreras said.

Contreras maintained that gangs no longer have the capacity to retaliate. “Crime is not eliminated, but rather neutralized,” he said. “The neutralization El Salvador’s government has achieved against the gangs has been almost 90%.”

Bukele ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Monday in remembrance of Arriaza Chicas, whom he described as a “national hero.”

“All flags, throughout the national territory, as well as in our embassies and consulates, will fly at half-staff for three days in honor of the director of the National Civil Police,” Bukele said on X.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the victims were transported to the capital in a police-escorted caravan.