{"code":"26163","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"750","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26163","link_edit":"","name":"At Least Five In-Custody Deaths following Mass Arrests in El Salvador","slug":"at-least-five-in-custody-deaths-following-mass-arrests-in-el-salvador","info":"El Salvador, in Brief: Despite unprecedented peacetime policing operations that led to 27,000 arrests in two months, gangs continue to extort businesses as an expression of their territorial control. Human rights groups and the press have also documented at least five in-custody deaths during Bukele\u2019s state of exception. Destitute women from around the country scramble to locate detained relatives at the gates of overcrowded prisons. Subscribe to our newsletter","mtag":"Violence","noun":{"html":"El Faro English","data":{"el-faro-english":{"sort":"","slug":"el-faro-english","path":"el_faro_english","name":"El Faro English","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"750","pict":{"cms-image-000037510-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37510","name":"cms-image-000037510.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037510.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037510.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037510-jpg","text":"<p>Salvadoran officials claimed to have made just under 27,000 arrests during El Salvador's state of exception through May 9, making for an average of over 600 per day. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESalvadoran officials claimed to have made just under 27,000 arrests during El Salvador's state of exception through May 9, making for an average of over 600 per day. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37510,"date":{"live":"2022\/05\/10"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"05","data_post_dateLive_DD":"10","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn just six weeks, the Salvadoran government claims to have jailed almost 27 thousand people in police actions that seem to outdo in both volume and velocity the \u201cPlan Mano Dura\u201d of ex-president Francisco Flores and the \u201cPlan Super Mano Dura\u201d of his successor, Tony Saca. Thus far the offensive has resulted in overloaded prisons and courts and sent a shockwave of apparent human rights violations, uncertainty, and financial strain through the country\u2019s lowest-income communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPerhaps the most chilling data point is that human rights monitors and the press have documented the cases of \u003Cstrong\u003Eat least \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/el-salvador-evidence-serious-abuse-state-emergency\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Efive individuals\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E who died in custody\u003C\/strong\u003E, one of them with signs of possible torture.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe administration says as many as 11 people have died in \"lethal encounters\" with security forces during the state of exception, but minimizes the importance of their deaths and international condemnations. \u201cHaving just 11 deaths out of 26,755 arrests speaks highly of the professionalism of our security forces, of their respect for human rights,\u201d Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro alleged in a Monday morning TV interview.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3067&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37510 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Salvadoran officials claimed to have made just under 27,000 arrests during El Salvador's state of exception through May 9, making for an average of over 600 per day. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Salvadoran officials claimed to have made just under 27,000 arrests during El Salvador's state of exception through May 9, making for an average of over 600 per day. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIt\u2019s unclear what long-term effect this strategy will have on the gangs.\u003C\/strong\u003E National homicide numbers have remained low for over five weeks now, but if there is one thing that appears not to have changed during Nayib Bukele\u2019s state of exception enacted on March 26, it\u2019s extortion. The payments, a \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/201611\/salanegra\/20697\/killers-on-a-shoestring-inside-the-gangs-of-el-salvador.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ebackbone of the gangs\u2019 brutal criminal enterprises\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E touching 70 percent of the country\u2019s businesses, can reach hundreds of dollars per month in a country where the same portion of the population works in the informal economy and most make under $500.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cAt the start of the state of exception, extortion payments were suspended,\u201d Federico Hern\u00e1ndez, former head of the Chamber of Commerce, \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202205\/el_salvador\/26153\/Pagar-extorsi%C3%B3n-a-pesar-del-R%C3%A9gimen-de-Excepci%C3%B3n.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Etold El Faro\u2019s Efren Lemus\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThe gangs regrouped, waited a bit, and then resumed charging \u003Cem\u003Erent\u003C\/em\u003E [extortion] like before.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELemus confirmed Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s account with a restaurant owner, two members of a public transportation union, an agricultural wholesaler, a pharmaceutical company executive, and two street vendors. \u201cIn recent days, police patrols have come by my business, but the problem hasn\u2019t gone away. I keep paying,\u201d said the San Salvador restaurateur.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEach of the seven spoke with El Faro on condition of anonymity, for \u003Cstrong\u003Efear of retaliation from the government \u003C\/strong\u003Eand the gangs\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u201cI don\u2019t want to end up like Catalino Miranda,\u201d explained an advisor to a public transport union, referring to a well-known \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/201612\/salanegra\/19286\/Catalino-no-paga-a-las-pandillas.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Echicken bus strongman\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and Bukele critic, imprisoned in mid-March after the administration accused him of illegally raising the price of bus fares. The government then confiscated multiple of his company\u2019s heavily-transited bus lines and put them \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elfaro.net\/es\/202203\/ef_foto\/26069\/El-ej%C3%A9rcito-se-toma-cientos-de-autobuses-de-Catalino-Miranda.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ein the hands of the military\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere Is My Son?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs the climate of fear among civil society groups thickens, human rights monitors have played a key role in documenting abuses during the state of exception.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHuman Rights Watch (HRW) and Salvadoran counterpart Cristosal have \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/el-salvador-evidence-serious-abuse-state-emergency\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Edocumented \u201cserious abuse\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E including arbitrary detentions, police raids without a judicial warrant, short-term enforced disappearances, and in-custody deaths including that of musician Elvis Josu\u00e9 S\u00e1nchez Rivera, 21, on April 19. His relatives say authorities have not conducted an autopsy. Leading international forensic experts reported \u201clesions\u201d on his body that \u201cmay have occurred during custody and\u003Cstrong\u003E may be the result of torture or other ill-treatment.\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn his Monday interview, Minister Villatoro stated that judges have ordered pre-trial detention for 15,000 of the 26,755 people arrested during the state of exception, and that just 168 people have been released due to lack of evidence. It\u2019s important to recall that last September Bukele purged \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/elfaro.net\/elfaro-english-bukele-purges-judiciary-6213388?e=3e101df639\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eone-third of all judges and prosecutors\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and in recent weeks has promised \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202204\/el_salvador\/26120\/Gag-Order-for-Journalism-on-Gangs.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Econsequences\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E for any judges perceived to favor gang members.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe mass arrests have overwhelmed the prison system and public defenders already stretched well beyond capacity. In many cases the state provides no information on the whereabouts of the tens of thousands of detainees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEvery day dozens of women \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/ef_photo\/26161\/The-Women-Searching-for-Their-Sons-in-the-Dark.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecrowd around the country\u2019s prison facilities\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in search of \u003Cstrong\u003Eany trace of their sons, grandchildren, partners, and fathers\u003C\/strong\u003E, who may or may not have any relation to the gangs, report El Faro photojournalists Carlos Barrera and V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a in a searing photogallery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cSome of the women waiting outside have gone weeks without knowing where their family members are being held,\u201d they note. \u201cThey don\u2019t even know whether they have come to the right place.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThanks for your time. If you\u2019ve gained from getting our work in your inbox, please consider \u003Cstrong\u003Efunding independent journalism in Central America\u003C\/strong\u003E, in its most critical hour, at\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/elfaro.us19.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=a822abdb775cca5db840e11e5&id=f6dc8ebab3&e=3e101df639\"\u003E \u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Esupport.elfaro.net\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E"}