El Salvador has more than 80,000 persons under the State of Exception that has been in place since March 2022.
Soldiers in formation at an official event where President Bukele is addressing the troops on Independence Day. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele attended an event on September 15th commemorating the country’s independence celebration in front of thousands of troops. One of Bukele’s plans is to duplicate the number of the armed forces from ten thousand to twenty thousand by 2025.
Central America – El Salvador, capital city San Salvador: the outfit of detainees use inside the prisons; these belonged to someone who was released from the detention center minutes before this image was made. He was popularly known as “El Penalito”. The person was a victim of the “arbitrary arrests” under the State of Exception placed on April 2022 by President Nayib Bukele as part of the ongoing war on gangs; more than 60 thousand persons have been imprisoned.
A supporter of President Bukele dances at Libertad Square (Plaza Libertad), Nayib Bukele’s popularity is high, and souvenirs with his image are being sold at local shops and open markets across the nation.
Police officers (PNC) stop and frisk a group of young men who work at a carwash, and after checking his record one is arrested. After a cop was ambushed and killed by gang members President Nayib Bukele ordered the deployment of almost 10 thousand elements from the national civil police, and soldiers to surround the state of Cabañas as part of the war on gangs.
Since April 2023, under the State of Exception imposed by President Bukele, it is estimated that more than 80 thousand persons have been imprisoned, and, among that number thousands have been victims of “arbitrary arrests”.
X-ray machine used on inmates when they enter the CECOT Mega-Prison which houses three major gangs, Mara Salvatrucha -MS13, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios and Barrio 18 Sureños. The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) is a maximum security prison which holds gang members of the three major gangs, build to house 40 thousand inmates as part of the war on gangs by President Nayib Bukele.
Residents, friends and family members of Yefferson Yohaldy Campos Mendoza, 22 yrs old, attend his funeral. He was a victim of an “arbitrary arrest” under the State of Exception. He was released last year under critical health conditions having his two failed kidneys and died due to this condition which happened while incarcerated.
The presidential security team uses high-tech to protect and prevent an attempt on President Nayib Bukele. Here they release a drone at an event which the President will attend to inaugurate a youth community center known as “CUBOS (CUBES), financed by the United Nations and the European Union, located in Mejicanos, a district affected by the gang violence.
Advertisement for the Ministry of Finance (the Salvadoran IRS) encouraging Salvadorans to pay their taxes so they can continue the war on gangs and showing a picture of the new CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo) – Terrorism Confinement Center mega prison.
El Salvador has more than 80,000 people under a state of emergency that has been in effect since March 2022. President Bukele has been heavily criticized for his focus on the war against gangs and the measures in his Territorial Control Plan, but the country is experiencing one of the safest periods in decades. Communities that once lived in fear of gangs now feel safe, but they fear becoming victims of the authorities and being arrested, becoming one of the thousands of victims of arbitrary detentions. The anti-gang strategy has gained popularity among the Salvadoran population in general, as well as international attention, and he is praised for it, although there is evidence that Bukele has negotiated with gang leaders to eliminate gang violence, and residents of gang-controlled communities have expressed concern about the return of gang members to the areas or the fact that they continue to live among them.
The problem is that this temporary peace can only be achieved under this law, at the end of which it is unclear what will happen and how the government will handle the situation afterwards. Peace has been achieved in the country, but can it be maintained or is it just a quick fix to the violence? Civil society, as well as national and international human rights organizations, have criticized the lack of due process and the use of torture against detainees. To demand the release of all innocent victims in prison, it is estimated that around 5,000 have been victims of arbitrary detention, of whom some 500 have died in suspicious circumstances and some evidence shows torture. There is great concern that the state of emergency will continue with no sign of ending and, even worse, become permanent in the country. Civil liberties are non-existent and the democratic state is fragile.
