El Salvador’s Congress on Tuesday approved the 28th extension of the state of emergency, in force since March 2022, as part of the security strategy promoted by President Nayib Bukele to combat the gangs that have terrorized Salvadorans for more than three decades.
The extension is for 30 days throughout the national territory, starting on July 10, and was approved with the votes of 57 of the 60 deputies of the unicameral Congress controlled by the ruling party and its allies. The deputy of the conservative VAMOS party voted against, while the two deputies of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) abstained.
In its petition, the Security Cabinet reported that President Bukele’s government has accumulated 655 days without homicides and that during the state of emergency they have captured more than 81,100 alleged gang members, including the main leaders of these criminal structures.
According to official information, most of the detainees remain in prison without a court ruling. The government has acknowledged that it has had to release more than 7,000 detainees due to lack of evidence.
The state of emergency in force since March 27, 2022, one day after gangs murdered 62 people across the country in 24 hours, suspended fundamental rights such as the right to be informed of the reasons for one’s arrest or the right to have access to a lawyer.
Under this regime, security forces can also intercept telecommunications without a court order and detention without a court hearing can be extended from 72 hours to 15 days.
As part of the strategy to combat gangs, Congress also approved reforms to the Penal Code to make gang membership a crime, which carries sentences of 20 to 40 years in prison. Leaders can receive sentences of up to 60 years.
In its petition, the Bukele government argues that it is essential to advance police and military intelligence work to combat “criminal organizations whose remnants continue to produce criminal activity, these groups constituting the enemy and the most serious threat that the state must face.”
During the debate, in which opposition parliamentarians did not participate, Nuevas Ideas MP Ana Figueroa said: “We are witnesses to the fact that the state of emergency has been a very effective tool to combat gangs. We are pleased to see that other countries are interested in this type of measures, as they have produced irrefutable results.”
In 2015, El Salvador was considered one of the most violent countries in the world, with 6,656 homicides, a rate of 106 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. “Today, we have become an attractive nation for investors, which is boosting the economy and tourism. Without a doubt, El Salvador is on the right path,” said Figueroa.
In 2023, the country closed with 214 homicides, including 38 deaths of alleged gang members in alleged clashes with police or military. So far this year, the police have recorded 75 homicides, including the death of three alleged criminals also in alleged clashes with the police or the armed forces.
National and international human rights organisations have denounced repeated violations of people’s fundamental rights and have demanded the repeal of the state of emergency.
The NGO Socorro Jurídico Humanitario recently reported 305 deaths of people detained during the state of emergency. They also say they have records of more than 6,000 complaints of arbitrary arrests of innocent people.
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