87.8% of Salvadorans approve of President Naguib Bukele’s way of governing, according to a poll published Monday by La Prensa Grafica newspaper
Eight months since El Salvador’s President Naguib Bukele declared a “war on gangs”, an estimated 2% of the country’s adult population – or about 100,000 people – are behind bars
Yesterday, El Salvador announced that the state of emergency was being extended – for the ninth time.
The president of El Salvador’s Congress, Ernesto Castro, clarified that the extension will be in effect “for a period of thirty days from December 18.”
The state of emergency, criticized by human rights groups, notably allows arrests to be made without warrants. It was announced at the end of March, following a wave of 87 murders attributed to the “maras”, the gangs that sow terror in El Salvador and neighboring Central American countries.
According to the text adopted, “criminal organizations and their members” remain a “threat”.
“The results of the state of emergency are undeniable and we have seen them in the field. With this new extension, we are protecting the lives of Salvadorans,” said Walter Aleman, a member of parliament from the president’s party, Nuevas Ideas (“New Ideas”).
Member of Parliament of the opposition party Vamos, Claudia Ortiz, judged for her part that “giving justice to the victims of violence and defending them is much more important than filling the prisons”.
Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado announced Monday that 60,218 alleged “mareros” — gang members — have been arrested.
Before the state of exception was imposed, there were already 16,000 gang members in Salvadoran prisons.
In the past nine months, police and the military have seized 1,980 firearms, 2,448 cars, 14,230 cellphones and $1.4 million in goods, according to the Ministry of Justice and Security.
87.8% of Salvadorans approve of the president’s way of governing, according to a poll published on Monday by the La Prensa Grafica newspaper, which pointed out that Mr Bukele’s “peak popularity” is due to the measures he has taken to to improve safety.
RES-EMP
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