The government of El Salvador said Wednesday that completely destroyed the command of gangs in the country. At the same time, the exception regime imposed by the President will continue Nayib Bukelehighly criticized by human rights organizations.
In force since March 2022, the exception regime gives legal support to the offensive against gangs, allowing arrests without court order.
The Government of El Salvador said to have destroyed the command of the gangs
The official indicated that the security forces arrested “the largest number of members” of gangs and ended the “crime monopoly” that these bands exercised, which were financed with the Extortion, Sicariato and the Sale of Drugs.
Bukele’s government ensures that gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha -This last declared terrorist organization in the US- murdered about 200,000 people in three decades, more than the 75,000 dead of the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992).
El Salvador requested support from USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize To arrest gang members who fled the country and the authorities “patrol” social networks to detect “remnants” of gangs in the country.
Figures of arrests in El Salvador
According to official figures, plus 89,000 alleged gang members were arrested under the exception regime, although some 8,000 were released by being innocent. However, human rights groups denounce abuses and that thousands of innocent are still behind bars.
The “war” against Bukele gangs, in power since 2019, minimized the rates of violence in the country, which facilitated their re -election in 2024, AFP cited.
Villatoro predicted that El Salvador could close 2025 with between 1 and 1.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, after remembering that 2024 closed with 1.9. The 2021 rate was 18 dead per 100,000 inhabitants.
The minister ruled out the repeal of the exception regime and said that “what we are doing is long.” The exception regime “is something worthwhile,” said the official, questioning that human rights organizations “sell it as something bad.”
Source: Ambito
