Men, women and children have rallied across the Central American country since the government declared a state of emergency on March 27, suspending constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence. President Nayib Bukele, an authoritarian populist who uses Twitter to announce policies and denounce his enemies, said the detainees were all gang members and would not be released. The state of emergency was declared after three days of violence that resulted in 87 deaths, for which Bukele blamed the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as MS-13. While police claim to have arrested the MS-13 leaders who ordered the killings, there is growing evidence that ordinary people living or working in gang-dominated neighborhoods have been arbitrarily arrested. In the capital, San Salvador, hundreds of husbands and wives gathered outside a naval base housing one of the largest police cells. Trucks loaded with handcuffed detainees arrived throughout the week as members of an evangelical church distributed small cups of sorbet to tear-stained relatives who had camped in the sun. Carmen Rodríguez, 33, does not know why her husband, brother and nephew were arrested a week ago while unloading a used clothes truck for their business in the city’s main market in the historic district. “When we asked the police why they were taking them, they just insulted us,” said Rodríguez, who is struggling to find the money to pay for his meals. “They take the righteous for sinners. “It’s good for the police to do their job, but it is unfair for them to fire workers as well – and even worse to treat them like animals,” he said. The women are reacting as they recognize their detained relatives, who were taken to a jail in San Salvador last week. Photo: José Cabezas / Reuters Last week, Bukele announced on Twitter that food for gang prisoners would be put in portions to feed the new prisoners as he was not prepared to take money from the education budget to feed “terrorists”. The 30-day state of emergency allows detainees to be held for 15 days – instead of the usual three – without access to a defense lawyer and without prosecutors having to take a case to a judge. The decree, which also allows police to investigate cell phones and text messages, could be extended. The National Assembly, which is controlled by Bukele’s allies, also passed legislation that increases juvenile prison sentences and allowed unrestricted pre-trial detention for suspected gang members. Zaira Navas, a lawyer with Salvador Cristosal’s human rights group, said: “The detainees have lost their right to a defense and do not have the right to know the reasons for their arrest.” Despite the wide range of new emergency powers, reports suggest other constitutional rights are being violated. Rosa López said police stormed her home in Santa Tecla, La Libertad, on Saturday, March 26, and arrested her 20-year-old cousin, who is suffering from heart disease. He had to be assigned a lawyer and appear in court three days after he was arrested the day before the state of emergency, but remains inactive. “The police did not ask, they just entered the house and took him. They were crazy that day, capturing everyone… It’s awful what they do to him and to us. “It’s not only unfair, it’s illegal,” said López, 26. Repression is popular with many gang-fed voters but has led to the closure of entire neighborhoods. An alleged member of the MS-13 gang is being held at a detention center. Photo: Camilo Freedman / Sopa Images / Rex / Shutterstock At a military checkpoint last afternoon in Santa Tecla, soldiers armed with AK-47s examined vehicles and checked people’s IDs and driver’s licenses before letting them in or out of the neighborhood. Anyone suspected was forced to undress so that troops could check for gang-related tattoos. Only those deemed to have a legitimate reason to be outside could pass. “Builders and informal workers can not leave. They are closed, prisoners. Fortunately I have a formal job and [my employer] has issued a letter. But if we want to go shopping after work we can not. “There is nothing we can do about it,” said a 35-year-old woman who did not want to be named. Astrid Valencia, Amnesty International’s Central America researcher, said: civil society organizations, international NGOs and independent media to express their concerns about these measures. “ Bukele has taken an increasingly militant stance with anyone who dares to challenge his government and recently claimed that human rights NGOs, the American Commission on Human Rights and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations – which provides grants to NGOs and independent media in El Salvador – are gang collaborators. It has become clear who the accomplices of the gang members are. Everyone came out to defend them: Funders, drug traffickers, corrupt politicians and judges, “human rights” NGOs, the “international community”, the IACHR, journalists and the Open Society media, etc. They took off the mask. – Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 4, 2022 Even before the mass arrests, El Salvador had one of the most overcrowded penitentiary systems in the world, with about a quarter of detainees being held in pre-trial detention. While mayor of San Salvador, Bouquetle claimed to have supported social crime prevention and remediation programs to tackle the country’s unresolved gang violence. Since taking power in 2019, he has returned to the same mano dura or repressive tactics of previous governments, while at the same time secretly negotiating a truce with gang leaders, according to the US. Bukele denies the allegations, but the phones of reporters reporting the truce under negotiation were tampered with using Israeli spy software. The names of the victims and their relatives have changed
