SAN SALVADOR – Of the 61,300 people captured in the nine months that El Salvador has been under an emergency regime, 3,313 have been released due to lack of evidence. This represents around 5% of those caught under this measure.
“There are 3,313 people who have been released by different [actores]: one for the same control that the prosecution exercises over police action. Others have been released in the jurisdiction of minors and the rest are related to judicial control over prosecutorial and police actions,” Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro stated on Wednesday on the local television program Facing.
Villatoro added that the releases have also occurred because the Ministry of Security and the Directorate of Penal Centers work to “be able to remove [de prisión] to those who were at the wrong time and place.”
According to the minister, there are people who grew up in communities controlled by gangs and were indirectly related to the structures, even serving as forced collaborators.
“Obviously if I’m in the community and I knew someone from a gang as a child and at that moment the authority arrives, we don’t have how to say ‘ah, well I’m just going to take this one. Not the friend,'” Villatoro explained.
In April of last year, President Nayib Bukele said that a 1% margin of error could be expected in the catches made up to that moment. Based on data through January 3, the margin of error would have risen to 5%.
The patrols and the captures have been in charge of the Police and the Armed Forces.
According to the report presented on January 4 by the San Salvador-based human rights organization Cristosal, arbitrary detention is the main human rights violation recorded by the organization.
Of the 3,086 complaints of human rights violations received by Cristosal between March 27 and December 31, 2022, 97% are for arbitrary detention. And the Police is the institution most pointed out.
regime will continue
Although there are 10 days left until it ends the ninth extension of the exception regime in El Salvador, the head of Security announced that the measure will continue.
“A new extension is going to be requested, even if it makes some uncomfortable,” Villatoro said.
The Congress of that country has approved nine extensions of the emergency regime since March of last year.
Despite the complaints of human rights violations registered by various civil organizations, the government highlights the reduction in homicides as a result of the measure.
According to Police data, the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants dropped from 18.1 in 2021 to 7.8 in 2022.
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