The government of President Naib Boukele declared a state of emergency in late March, following a wave of 87 killings attributed to gangs.
At least 18 people have been killed in police custody in El Salvador since a state of emergency was declared two months ago, a highly controversial measure aimed at curbing organized crime, Amnesty International said in a report released on Thursday.
The government of President Naib Boukele declared a state of emergency in late March, following a wave of 87 killings attributed to gangs. The measure, which suspends fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, has provoked strong reactions from human rights groups.
Speaking on the sidelines of his three-year presidency on Wednesday, Mr Boukele said the authorities were close to “winning the war on gangs” and dismissed criticism from governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. power and human rights violations.
“Whatever they say, whatever they do, whatever they write, no matter how much they attack again and again, I tell you: They will not stop us. “We have God and the Salvadoran people on our side,” said the 40-year-old head of state.
Amnesty International says the Salvadorian authorities have already committed “massive human rights abuses” in the “war” declared by Mr Bouquetle, including arbitrary arrests, breaches of due process, torture and ill-treatment.
“As of May 28, at least 18 people had been killed while in police custody. “Given the precarious conditions in prisons, there is reasonable concern that the number of victims will increase in the coming days,” the NGO said in its report.
The figures come from the Central American NGO Cristosal, which said all the people who died were men. Some succumbed because they were not offered medical care, others bruised and other indications that they had been attacked.
In its report, Amnesty International also stigmatizes the fact that mass hearings of up to 500 detainees are taking place.
The presidency, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Security, the police and the army did not respond when asked by Reuters to comment on the report.
In mid-May, Reuters reported that police had arrested dozens of innocent people whom he had unjustly accused of having links to gangs in order to cover the quotas demanded by Mr Bouquet’s government. The agency cited five officials.
As of March 27, police and the army have arrested more than 36,000 people, accusing them of belonging to gangs, including 1,190 minors, according to official figures.
Gangs, the so-called Maras, began to flourish in El Salvador during the Civil War (1979-1992), before spreading to the rest of Central America and parts of Mexico.
In El Salvador, a relatively small country of 6.5 million people, the two largest gangs, Mara Salvatrouca (MS-13) and Barrio 18, number about 70,000 members, most of whom are now in prison. .
The forty-year-old president of El Salvador, in power since 2019, enjoys high popularity: as polls consistently show, the “war” he declared on the gangs is supported by more than 70% of the citizens. But Mr Boukele’s drive for authoritarianism is a growing concern for the opposition, part of the international community and NGOs who say it undermines democracy.
His government has also reportedly struck deals with the two largest gangs in the past, offering their leading members better conditions of detention, money and other benefits if they reduced the violence and supported Boukele’s party. The president and other officials have repeatedly denied the allegations, prompting a series of revelations in the press.
