The Salvadoran Congress approved a new extension of the exception regime which came into force more than two years ago as one of the pillars of Nayib Bukele’s government in its tough policy to fight gangs.
The state of emergency, which suspends fundamental rights such as being informed of the reasons for arrest or having access to a lawyer, has been renewed 26 times. According to the Constitution, the period of suspension of constitutional guarantees cannot exceed 30 days and President Bukele’s government has been extending it every month since it was first approved on March 27, 2022.
The new extension was approved with the votes of 57 of the 60 deputies of the new Congress, which is under the control of the ruling party, and will remain in force until June 11, 2024.
Since the state of emergency has been in force in El Salvador, 79,947 people who the authorities classify as terrorists have been detained and in more than 90% of the cases remain in prison without a judicial sentence against them, according to the data update presented by government. The government has acknowledged that it has had to release some 7,000 detainees due to lack of evidence against them.
Non-governmental organizations claim that human rights have been violated under the state of emergency and have demanded that the government’s heavy-handed policy be ended. Seven non-governmental organizations reported that they have registered 6,305 complaints of human rights violations, including illegal, arbitrary detentions, and cruel treatment. In addition, they report 244 deaths of people deprived of liberty in State custody.
The two deputies of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) voted to abstain on Thursday and, during the debate, deputy Francisco Lira asked to replace the emergency regime with a permanent security measure that does not violate human rights, but he did not present any document. to discuss it.
For its part, the Ministry of Security assured in its petition to Congress that the risk posed by gangs remains in El Salvador and considered it necessary to continue the measure until the last of the gang members is in jail.
In the request made by the Security Cabinet, it was indicated that in the Bukele government there have been 608 days without violent deaths and that, during the validity of the exception, there have been 497 days without homicides.
Under this regime, security forces can intervene in telecommunications without a court order and detention without a court hearing is prolonged from 72 hours to 15 days.
As part of the strategy to combat gangs, Congress also approved reforms to the Penal Code last year to make membership in gangs a crime, which carries penalties of 20 to 40 years in prison. Ringleaders can receive sentences of up to 60 years.
In crimes related to organized crime, sentences of 20 years in prison are applied for adolescents over 16 years of age and up to 10 years in prison for children over 12.
According to the government, with the extraordinary measures, violence in El Salvador has decreased considerably since 2015, when more than 6,665 homicides were recorded and the country was considered one of the most dangerous in the world. In 2023, the year closed with 214 murders, including 38 deaths of alleged gang members in alleged confrontations with police and armed forces.
So far in 2024, there have been 45 homicides, according to official data.
On the same Thursday, the Salvadoran Public Ministry presented a package of requests to the Organized Crime Courts to prosecute 1,739 alleged gang members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) in a single case for the crime of illicit groups. And he specified that the rest of the crimes they have committed – including homicide, extortion, carrying and possession of weapons and drug-related crimes – will follow due process in parallel.
The defendants, who are already being held in prison, were allegedly part of 230 cliques or groups of this criminal structure that operated throughout the country.
The request to group gang members into a single case is based on legislative decree number 803, which authorizes the Public Prosecutor’s Office to present a single case against members of gangs that make up the same group and that operated in the same geographical area.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channelsYoutube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and Instagram.
Add Comment