  

    <html>
      <head>
        <meta charset="UTF-8" />
        <script type="text/javascript">
            
            var stats_getHTTPObject_26793_en = function () {
                var xhr = false;
                if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
                    xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
                } else if (window.ActiveXObject) {
                    try {
                        xhr = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
                    } catch(e) {
                        try {
                            xhr = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
                        } catch(e) {
                            xhr = false;
                        }
                    }
                }
                return xhr;
            };

            var stats_submit_26793_en = function () {
                if (undefined !== window.statistics_request_sent__26793_en) {
                    return;
                }
                window.statistics_request_sent__26793_en = true;

                var stats_request = stats_getHTTPObject_26793_en();
                stats_request.onreadystatechange = function() {};

                var read_date = new Date();
                var read_path = "_statistics/reader/1/";
                var request_randomizer = "" + read_date.getTime() + Math.random();
                var stats_url = "https://elfaro.net/" + read_path + "26818/";
                try {
                    stats_request.open("GET", stats_url + "?randomizer=" + request_randomizer, true);
                    stats_request.send(null);
                    /* not everybody has jquery installed
                    $.ajax({
                        url: stats_url,
                        data: {randomizer: request_randomizer},
                        success: function() {}
                    });
                    */
                } catch (e) {}
            };
            stats_submit_26793_en();
            
            </script>
        <style>
          body
          ,
          code[class*="language-"]
          ,
          pre[class*="language-"]
          {

          }
        </style>


        <!-- INIT -->
        <link rel="canonical" href="https://elfaro.net/en/202303/el_salvador/26793"/>
        <noscript>
          <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;URL=https://elfaro.net/en/202303/el_salvador/26793">
        </noscript>
        <meta charset="utf-8"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script type="text/javascript">var IE_fix=true;</script><![endif]-->
        
        <!-- /ENDS -->
      </head>
      <body>

        {"code":"26793","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"2092","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202303\/el_salvador\/26793","link_edit":"","name":"One Year under a Police State in El Salvador","slug":"one-year-under-a-police-state-in-el-salvador","info":"Monday marked the one-year anniversary of a state of exception that suspended constitutional rights across El Salvador. It is no longer the exception, but the rule, with thousands of reports of human rights violations, including torture and dozens of in-custody deaths. Security forces detain anyone, for any reason and without evidence, as the country\u2019s prison population swells.","mtag":"Violence","noun":{"html":"Gabriel Labrador and \u00d3scar Mart\u00ednez","data":{"gabriel-labrador-and-oscar-martinez":{"sort":"","slug":"gabriel-labrador-and-oscar-martinez","path":"gabriel_labrador_and_oscar_martinez","name":"Gabriel Labrador and \u00d3scar Mart\u00ednez"}}},"view":"2092","pict":{"cms-image-000038847-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38847","name":"cms-image-000038847.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038847.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038847.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038847-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Salvadoran soldiers search a resident in San Jos\u00e9 El Pino, Santa Tecla, on March 27, 2022, in the first days of the state of exception. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESalvadoran soldiers search a resident in San Jos\u00e9 El Pino, Santa Tecla, on March 27, 2022, in the first days of the state of exception. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038848-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38848","name":"cms-image-000038848.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038848.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038848.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038848-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;For one week, this mother was waiting for the release of her son outside a prison known as El Penalito, in San Salvador. The young man was released on September 26, 2022, after being imprisoned for three months. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EFor one week, this mother was waiting for the release of her son outside a prison known as El Penalito, in San Salvador. The young man was released on September 26, 2022, after being imprisoned for three months. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038849-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38849","name":"cms-image-000038849.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038849.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038849.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038849-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Antonio Mel\u00e9ndez, 58, cries before entering Ilopango Prison. Antonio was hoping to see his family before being taken away, but due to a lack of information on detainees, his family was unable to locate him. Photo Carlos Barrera&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EAntonio Mel\u00e9ndez, 58, cries before entering Ilopango Prison. Antonio was hoping to see his family before being taken away, but due to a lack of information on detainees, his family was unable to locate him. Photo Carlos Barrera\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038850-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38850","name":"cms-image-000038850.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038850.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038850.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038850-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Dozens of people arrive at the gates of Ilopango Prison in search of their relatives. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EDozens of people arrive at the gates of Ilopango Prison in search of their relatives. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038851-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38851","name":"cms-image-000038851.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038851.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038851.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038851-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ERelatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038852-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38852","name":"cms-image-000038852.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038852.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038852.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038852-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;On December 3, 2022, during the state of exception, the Bukele administration mobilized a military siege of Soyapango, a satellite city of San Salvador. In neighborhoods like Las Margaritas, the Armed Forces carried out home-to-home raids, detaining anyone they deemed suspicious. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EOn December 3, 2022, during the state of exception, the Bukele administration mobilized a military siege of Soyapango, a satellite city of San Salvador. In neighborhoods like Las Margaritas, the Armed Forces carried out home-to-home raids, detaining anyone they deemed suspicious. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038853-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38853","name":"cms-image-000038853.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038853.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038853.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038853-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the remains of Rodrigo V\u00e1squez, 44 years old, who was detained on May 9, 2022 under the state of exception and died in Izalco Prison. According to the forensics report, the cause of death was pneumonia. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EFuneral home workers carry a coffin containing the remains of Rodrigo V\u00e1squez, 44 years old, who was detained on May 9, 2022 under the state of exception and died in Izalco Prison. According to the forensics report, the cause of death was pneumonia. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038854-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38854","name":"cms-image-000038854.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038854.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038854.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038854-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;On June 1, 2022, after the Legislative Assembly voted to extend the state of exception for a third month, President Nayib Bukele delivered his annual speech, celebrating what he called the government\u2019s victory in the war on gangs. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EOn June 1, 2022, after the Legislative Assembly voted to extend the state of exception for a third month, President Nayib Bukele delivered his annual speech, celebrating what he called the government\u2019s victory in the war on gangs. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038855-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38855","name":"cms-image-000038855.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038855.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038855.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038855-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Soldiers inspect residents of Distrito Italia, Tonacatepeque, before letting them enter their neighborhood in April 2022. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESoldiers inspect residents of Distrito Italia, Tonacatepeque, before letting them enter their neighborhood in April 2022. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038856-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38856","name":"cms-image-000038856.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038856.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038856.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038856-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Don Paco\u2019s burial in La Reina, Chalatenango, on August 26, 2022. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EDon Paco\u2019s burial in La Reina, Chalatenango, on August 26, 2022. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38855,"date":{"live":"2023\/03\/31"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"03","data_post_dateLive_DD":"31","text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202303\/el_salvador\/26785\/un-ano-de-regimen-de-excepcion-se-consolida-un-estado-militar-y-policial\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 65,000 people detained, nearly a hundred dead in prison, torture, arbitrary arrest, suspension of constitutional rights, concealment of public information, no-bid government contracts and purchases, and incarceration without cause are just some of the most visible effects of El Salvador\u2019s state of exception, which this week has been in force for one year, having been extended, uninterrupted, 11 times in the same number of months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEl Salvador\u2019s state of exception is a legal framework involving over a dozen legislative decrees that introduce significant changes to the country\u2019s public security and judicial systems, such as the introduction of masked judges licensed to sentence people who are absent from court, or the condemnation of children as young as twelve, who would otherwise be remanded to juvenile correction, to up to ten years in prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state of exception is an extraordinary mechanism permitted by Article 29 of the Constitution of El Salvador, which establishes a list of fundamental rights that, depending on the nature of the emergency, can be provisionally eliminated by the government to reestablish social order. In March 2022, after \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202204\/el_salvador\/26107\/Las-v%C3%ADctimas-del-d%C3%ADa-m\u00e1s-violento-del-siglo.htm\"\u003E87 people were murdered\u003C\/a\u003E in the country in one weekend, President Bukele ordered the Legislative Assembly to activate the emergency decree by the end of that month. An \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26177\/Collapsed-Government-Talks-with-MS-13-Sparked-Record-Homicides-in-El-Salvador-Audios-Reveal.htm\"\u003Einvestigation by El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E later revealed that the killings had been perpetrated by the Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) as retribution, after the Bukele administration arrested members of the gang in apparent violation of the \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202009\/el_salvador\/24785\/Bukele-Spent-A-Year-Negotiating-with-MS-13-for-a-Reduction-in-Homicides-and-Electoral-Support.htm\"\u003Esecret pact the two parties had maintained since 2019.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitially, the state of exception had its sights on MS-13, but as the months passed, its scope grew to also target the Barrio 18 Sure\u00f1os and Revolucionarios gangs, and even some smaller criminal groups dedicated to drug sales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOfficial figures \u2014the only numbers available, due to restrictions on access to public information\u2014 place the number of arrests under the state of exception at roughly 65,000. It is impossible to know whether these statistics take into account people arrested as they exited the prison gates after completing a prior sentence, or those who have been captured, released, and then recaptured days later. The government has not provided disaggregated data or any official reports on prisoners who have been released.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn January of this year, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Gustavo Villatoro, stated in a television interview that the government had released 3,313 individuals arrested under the state of exception, or 5.4% of the total number of officially registered detainees. Legislative representatives and Bukele administration officials assert that the innocent will be released, and that such cases should be considered normal mistakes, typical of any judicial system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38847 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Salvadoran soldiers search a resident in San Jos\u00e9 El Pino, Santa Tecla, on March 27, 2022, in the first days of the state of exception. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 soldiers search a resident in San Jos\u00e9 El Pino, Santa Tecla, on March 27, 2022, in the first days of the state of exception. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003ESince the state of exception began, the government\u2019s propaganda machine has churned out an endless stream of images celebrating the subjugation of alleged criminals: in the first weeks, the police even disseminated \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/Ay-mi-brazo-Policia-difunde-video-de-torturas-en-Twitter-y-luego-lo-borra-20220402-0027.html\"\u003Evideos depicting the torture of people in their custody\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 men in handcuffs, faces smashed against the pavement, boots pressing down on their necks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn late February of this year, the Bukele administration again resorted to a classic iron-fisted optic that it has used \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202303\/opinion\/26745\/El-Salvador\"\u003Esince 2020\u003C\/a\u003E: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/international\/2023-02-28\/bukele-shows-off-thousands-of-imprisoned-gang-members-in-new-mega-prison.html\"\u003EImages of hundreds of tattooed prisoners\u003C\/a\u003E, sitting, semi-naked, pressed against each other like sardines and surrounded by riot police. In this case, according to official reports, the photos depicted the transfer of some 2,000 alleged gang members to the state of exception\u2019s newest monument to carceral power: the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which the government touts as the largest prison on the continent, with the capacity to hold more than 40,000 prisoners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf this is true, the new facility has doubled El Salvador\u2019s prison capacity. And if the official arrest figures are also reliable, the country now has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/es\/programas\/noticias-de-am\u00e9rica\/20220721-aumento-considerable-del-n\u00famero-de-detenidos-en-el-salvador-por-el-r\u00e9gimen-de-excepci\u00f3n\"\u003Ethe highest incarceration rate in the world\u003C\/a\u003E, according to the World Prison Brief (WPB), a database hosted by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research at the University of London. According to the WPB, in March 2022, before the state of exception went into effect, El Salvador had imprisoned 605 people for every 100,000 inhabitants. Under the state of exception, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/El-Salvador-llego-a-97-mil-525-reos-en-2022-20230116-0099.html\"\u003Ethat rate has reached 1,540 per 100,000\u003C\/a\u003E, meaning roughly 2% of the entire population of El Salvador is now behind bars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrior to the state of exception, El Salvador housed 37,000 inmates in a prison system designed for 27,000 people. Overcrowding was the norm. If the official figures are true, the more than 65,000 people arrested under the state of exception have raised that prison population to over 100,000. If the Terrorism Confinement Center adds 40,000 beds, that will still leave the system overcrowded, despite having a capacity to hold nearly 70,000 prisoners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContrary to the official narrative that arrests of innocent people are a rare exception, various individual cases corroborated by fact, along with several international reports and numerous investigations published in the press, show that arbitrary detentions are widespread and systematic, and several released inmates \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202302\/ef_tv\/26699\/\"\u003Ehave reported witnessing\u003C\/a\u003E torture and deaths in prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn May 2022, barely two months into the state of exception, El Salvador\u2019s national police union (MTP) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/Movimiento-PNC-En-Cinquera-municipio-donde-no-hay-estructuras-de-pandillas-piden-a-policias-30-capturas--20220414-0021.html\"\u003Ereported\u003C\/a\u003E numerous complaints from officers protesting the enforcement of a \u201cdaily arrest quota,\u201d which they said they were required to fill regardless of whether or not they could attribute any real crimes to the people they detained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MTP highlighted the case of Cinquera, a small municipality northeast of San Salvador in Caba\u00f1as department, where the police chief reportedly ordered 30 arrests per day to satisfy the government\u2019s political discourse. But in Cinquera, there are no gangs, MTP leaders said. In June 2022, the police union reported several similar cases in police jurisdictions in the department of Santa Ana, where officers who refused to make arbitrary arrests to fill a quota were reportedly threatened with transfer to La Uni\u00f3n, a department on the opposite side of the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEl Faro was able to confirm a similar case: that of El Esp\u00edritu Santo, an island that has never had any gang presence, as confirmed by police from Puerto El Triunfo, the municipal seat of Usulat\u00e1n, the department encompassing the island. Despite this, \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202208\/el_salvador\/26319\/Las-22-capturas-en-El-Esp%C3%ADritu-Santo-la-isla-sin-pandillas.htm\"\u003E22 young men were arrested there under the state of exception\u003C\/a\u003E, including a former FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup player. Most of them remain behind bars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38848 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"For one week, this mother was waiting for the release of her son outside a prison known as El Penalito, in San Salvador. The young man was released on September 26, 2022, after being imprisoned for three months. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 For one week, this mother was waiting for the release of her son outside a prison known as El Penalito, in San Salvador. The young man was released on September 26, 2022, after being imprisoned for three months. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EThe list of international organizations who have denounced human rights violations under the state of exception is long, and includes \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/\"\u003Eallegations of torture by Amnesty International\u003C\/a\u003E, as well as \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202208\/el_salvador\/26330\/Estado-salvadore\u00f1o-admiti\u00f3-a-la-ONU-que-investiga-muertes-en-c\u00e1rceles-durante-el-R\u00e9gimen.htm\"\u003Einquiries by six United Nations offices\u003C\/a\u003E into reports of enforced disappearances and deaths in prison. In December 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Salvadoran organization Cristosal \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/12\/07\/el-salvador-widespread-abuses-under-state-emergency\"\u003Epublished a report\u003C\/a\u003E documenting hundreds of arbitrary and illegitimate arrests. The organizations described these arrests as \u201cmassive and indiscriminate,\u201d and the human rights violations of detainees as \u201cwidespread and severe.\u201d In January of this year, HRW \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2023\/01\/27\/el-salvador-leaked-database-points-large-scale-abuses\"\u003Ereported\u003C\/a\u003E gaining access to a leaked database from the Ministry of Security and Justice that confirmed reports of \u201cmass due process violations\u201d and \u201clarge-scale\u201d human rights abuses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn February 2023, an investigation by El Faro revealed that, after months of arbitrary arrests and rights abuses, the government had \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202302\/el_salvador\/26694\/Bukele-Government-Dismantled-Gang-Presence-in-El-Salvador.htm\"\u003Elargely succeeded in dismantling the gangs\u2019 internal structures in El Salvador\u003C\/a\u003E. In a statement cited in that investigation, Zaira Navas, former inspector general of the National Civil Police (PNC) and current coordinator of Cristosal\u2019s state of exception task force, said: \u201cThe investigations we have undertaken appear to suggest that the number of gang members captured under the state of exception doesn\u2019t even account for 30% [of their total ranks]. The rest \u2014the majority\u2014 are civilians.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is a fact that some gang members have fled the country due to the state of exception, living in hiding in Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, or the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany people arrested under the state of exception have died in prison. But again, official accounts tend to come from statements by government officials, without evidence, data, or independent assessments. On November 7, in a television interview, Minister Villatoro stated that 90 people captured under the state of exception had died in custody. He neglected to discuss what had caused these deaths, writing them off as \u201cnormal\u201d and claiming that \u201cthere is death in every prison system.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast week, the head of the Nuevas Ideas ruling party bloc in the Legislative Assembly, Christian Guevara, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2bLFo689iag\"\u003Esaid during a televised interview\u003C\/a\u003E that the majority of deaths in the prisons were murders, then used this claim to argue that the young men arrested under the state of exception were not \u201clittle kindergarteners,\u201d but dangerous terrorists.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38853 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the remains of Rodrigo V\u00e1squez, 44 years old, who was detained on May 9, 2022 under the state of exception and died in Izalco Prison. According to the forensics report, the cause of death was pneumonia. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the remains of Rodrigo V\u00e1squez, 44 years old, who was detained on May 9, 2022 under the state of exception and died in Izalco Prison. According to the forensics report, the cause of death was pneumonia. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EDozens of cases reported by the Salvadoran press speak to a cruel reality. Take, for example, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/el_salvador\/26351\/Two-Months-after-Wrongful-Arrest-Don-Paco-Returned-Home-in-a-Casket.htm\"\u003Ethe case of Francisco Huezo L\u00f3pez\u003C\/a\u003E, a dairy farmer from La Reina, Chalatenango, who in June 2022 was summoned to the local police station, where he was then arrested and taken to Mariona Prison. Two months later, Don Paco, as his friends and neighbors knew him, returned home in a coffin, with his body \u2014\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/35-capturados-en-el-regimen-de-excepcion--asesinados-en-las-carceles-20220809-0059.html\"\u003Elike those of at least 35 others\u003C\/a\u003E who had left prison in a casket\u2014 showing signs of torture. The police justification for Don Paco\u2019s arrest was that he had been charged in 2019 for collaborating with gangs. But Don Paco had been found innocent of that allegation, and his acquittal was upheld by a higher court.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38856 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Don Paco\u2019s burial in La Reina, Chalatenango, on August 26, 2022. 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 Don Paco\u2019s burial in La Reina, Chalatenango, on August 26, 2022. 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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDubious origin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state of exception authorized by President Bukele provisionally suspended four basic rights for everyone in the country: the right to a defense attorney in the event of arrest by the police, the right to be presented before a judge within 72 hours of arrest, and the inviolability of private communications and correspondence in the absence of a court-ordered warrant. The fourth suspended right was the right to free association, which was restricted for five months between March 27 and August 17, 2022. The Legislative Assembly reinstated this right when it extended the state of exception for the fifth time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, in April, the Legislative Assembly \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elfaro.net\/es\/202204\/el_salvador\/26143\/Asamblea-bukelista-ampl%C3%ADa-R\u00e9gimen-de-Excepci\u00f3n-por-30-d%C3%ADas-y-anula-la-ley-de-compras-del-Estado.htm\"\u003Eapproved a separate decree\u003C\/a\u003E that frees the government from its obligation to consider bids for public contracts and purchases while the state of exception remains in force. This has allowed the Bukele administration to award direct, no-bid contracts to select private companies, and to conceal all information on prices and purchases, including for the multimillion-dollar contract awarded for the construction of the Terrorism Confinement Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe decree is similar to another legislative order approved in 2020 during the pandemic. According to El Salvador\u2019s Attorney General\u2019s Office, two out of every three government contracts and purchases that year \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202011\/el_salvador\/24995\/668--de-las-compras-de-insumos-m\u00e9dicos-bajo-investigaci\u00f3n-por-negociaciones-il%C3%ADcitas.htm\"\u003Eshowed signs of irregularities\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38854 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"On June 1, 2022, after the Legislative Assembly voted to extend the state of exception for a third month, President Nayib Bukele delivered his annual speech, celebrating what he called the government\u2019s victory in the war on gangs. 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 On June 1, 2022, after the Legislative Assembly voted to extend the state of exception for a third month, President Nayib Bukele delivered his annual speech, celebrating what he called the government\u2019s victory in the war on gangs. 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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExceptional decree\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state of exception was authorized on questionable grounds. A 1997 ruling by El Salvador\u2019s Supreme Court of Justice established that an increase in crime rates does not constitute a sufficient reason to enact the emergency measure, because rising rates of criminality do not actually imply a serious crisis of national and social order that cannot be addressed using other mechanism already available to the state.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, the Bukele government had taken a different approach in the case of two other massacres perpetrated by gangs during the period when the government truce with the gangs was in force: In April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/news\/analysis\/el-salvador-bukele-security\/\"\u003Egangs killed 76 people in four days\u003C\/a\u003E. The president ordered the Armed Forces to use lethal force against any suspected criminal who resisted arrest. This was also when images of tattooed gang members arrested en masse were first circulated by the government. But no state of exception was declared, and the increase in homicides abated. In November 2021, gangs went on another killing spree, murdering 45 people in three days. Audio recordings of incarcerated gang members obtained by El Faro revealed that, far from decreeing a state of exception, the government instead was \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202301\/el_salvador\/26663\/Gang-Divisions-Provoked-2021-Massacre-and-Almost-Toppled-Negotiations-with-Bukele.htm\"\u003Econducting secret negotiations with gang leadership to put an end to the killings in the streets\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38855 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Soldiers inspect residents of Distrito Italia, Tonacatepeque, before letting them enter their neighborhood in April 2022. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 Soldiers inspect residents of Distrito Italia, Tonacatepeque, before letting them enter their neighborhood in April 2022. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EThe maelstrom of murders in March 2022 ended on Monday, March 27, the day the state of exception was approved and the country was militarized. According to information compiled by civil society organizations, however, the authorities not only enforced the legally authorized restrictions; they also began to violate rights that, legally and in theory, had not been suspended by the emergency decree. \u201cThe state of exception is an idea they\u2019ve sold us, but it\u2019s a de facto regime, permanent, plagued by unjustified rights violations,\u201d says Abraham \u00c1brego, Director of Strategic Litigation at Cristosal. \u00c1brego and his team have received 3,219 complaints of human rights violations, of which 3,122 were related to arbitrary detentions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state began violating other rights as well. For example, the right to presumption of innocence. Leaked judicial filings showed that, without any justification \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/el_salvador\/26298\/State-of-Exception-Files-Hundreds-Arrested-for-Prior-Convictions-or-\"\u003Eother than \u201cappearing nervous,\u201d\u003C\/a\u003E police and soldiers arrested dozens of people and subjected them to special judicial processes that operate in total secrecy \u2014 a measure the Attorney General\u2019s Office has defended, arguing that the press might use details from proceedings to generate \u201cpanic in the population.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state of exception, at least on paper, has not suspended the right to be free from unwarranted searches and seizures. But there are numerous cases of people being arrested in the privacy of their own homes, as Cristosal has denounced. Torture of detainees is also not permitted under the state of exception, yet there are many cases in which detainees report being subjected to torture at the hands of soldiers or police, as happened to \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202212\/el_salvador\/26617\/Soldiers-Arbitrarily-Arrested-and-Tortured-Eight-Salvadoran-Teens-in-Bajo-Lempa.htm\"\u003Eeight young boys\u003C\/a\u003E in September 2022, in Bajo Lempa, a region in the department of Usulut\u00e1n.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38852 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"On December 3, 2022, during the state of exception, the Bukele administration mobilized a military siege of Soyapango, a satellite city of San Salvador. In neighborhoods like Las Margaritas, the Armed Forces carried out home-to-home raids, detaining anyone they deemed suspicious. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 On December 3, 2022, during the state of exception, the Bukele administration mobilized a military siege of Soyapango, a satellite city of San Salvador. In neighborhoods like Las Margaritas, the Armed Forces carried out home-to-home raids, detaining anyone they deemed suspicious. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EKey to understanding why the state of exception has been extended for an entire year is the fact that Bukele has ordered the Legislative Assembly, which he effectively controls, to make multiple changes to the law to ensure that, once in prison, defendants would have little chance of being released through alternatives to pre-trial detention. Bukele had already delt a major blow to judicial independence in 2021, when he compelled the Assembly to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/elfaro.net\/elfaro-english-bukele-purges-judiciary-6213384\"\u003Eforce a third of all judges in the country into retirement\u003C\/a\u003E, then replaced them with magistrates sympathetic to the ruling party. Cristosal has reported cases of judges who opted to release individuals prosecuted under the state of exception, and who were then punished by the ruling party for doing so. These judges were transferred to faraway courts or demoted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn March 24, former magistrate Sidney Blanco \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elsalvador.com\/noticias\/nacional\/sidney-blanco-exmagistrado-cidh-independencia-judicial-destruida-por-bukele\/1049395\/2023\/\"\u003Espoke before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights\u003C\/a\u003E in Washington, D.C., denouncing President Bukele for \u201cdenigrating and destroying judicial independence,\u201d which in turn, \u201cdestroys democracy and normalizes serious and systematic violations of human rights\u2026 Judges in El Salvador are afraid,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA system adapted on the fly\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the early morning of March 27, 2022, legislators were in such a hurry to approve the state of exception that pro-government representative Elisa Rosales did not even realize that she had \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GBionUvu64Y\"\u003Emisplaced her copy of the decree\u003C\/a\u003E and was reading some other document. Nobody seemed to notice, and when the vote was called, 67 representatives loudly pronounced themselves in favor of the measure. \u201cThe state of exception, apparently, was not really planned, but was the product of a breakdown in the negotiations [between the government and the gangs],\u201d says \u00c1brego, of Cristosal. \u201cWhen they did it, they realized that it was producing results in terms of popular support, so they decided [to keep it in place] to use it for that,\u201d he adds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn February 2024, Bukele plans to run for a second term, despite \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202209\/el_salvador\/26381\/Bukele-Announces-He-Will-Seek-Reelection-in-2024-despite-Constitutional-Ban.htm\"\u003EEl Salvador\u2019s constitutional ban\u003C\/a\u003E prohibiting consecutive reelection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next step was to ensure that detainees stayed in prison. The government wanted to avoid repeating the mistake of former President Francisco Flores, who had launched a similar initiative in 2003 known as Plan Mano Dura (\u201cPlan Iron Fist\u201d), rounding up hundreds of people for looking like gang members, but only managing to hold them for a few hours, in what turned out to be more of a political stunt than a public policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis was why the Bukele administration moved to eliminate the constitutional right to be presented before a judge within 72 hours. The time limit on pre-trial detention was extended to two weeks, after which a judge must hold a preliminary hearing. A judge would then decide whether the accused should remain in pretrial detention while their case is processed, or if the individual should be free to return home and undergo the process with relative freedom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38851 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EThe government then rushed through more changes to the law, this time affecting seven different criminal codes: the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law Regulating Drug Activities, the Penal Code, the Special Law Against Acts of Terrorism, the Juvenile Penal Law, the Special Law Against the Crime of Extortion, and the Law on Rewards and Elimination of Impunity for Acts of Terrorism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn contrast to the normal notion that laws should apply to everyone equally, the government made it explicit that, in the case of accused gang members, these codes were to be applied with maximum severity. Article 331 of the Criminal Procedure Code was modified so that no judge can grant pretrial probation to gang members prosecuted for \u201cany crime.\u201d And a reform to Article 8 of the same code stipulated that, even when the maximum two-year legal term for pretrial detention has been reached, no gang member can be released on probation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202207\/el_salvador\/26253\/diary-of-a-public-defender-drowning-in-the-state-of-exception\"\u003Eoverburdening of public defense attorneys\u003C\/a\u003E, prosecutors, and even judges has meant that many pretrial hearings now process dozens or even hundreds of defendants in a single appearance. In such cases, no defendant is able to present an individual case, much less after only 15 days in pretrial detention, and the vast majority are remanded to prison by judges who rule without considering whether the state has any evidence to back up their claims that these men are gang members and belong behind bars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a result, thousands of Salvadorans are now locked up in prison, stuck in limbo as they await the results of indefinite processes, and are indefinitely stripped of their rights, without ever having the opportunity to speak to a lawyer. These people can spend any number of years in prison, without ever being convicted, until their cases are resolved.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38849 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Antonio Mel\u00e9ndez, 58, cries before entering Ilopango Prison. Antonio was hoping to see his family before being taken away, but due to a lack of information on detainees, his family was unable to locate him. Photo Carlos Barrera\" \/\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 Antonio Mel\u00e9ndez, 58, cries before entering Ilopango Prison. Antonio was hoping to see his family before being taken away, but due to a lack of information on detainees, his family was unable to locate him. Photo Carlos Barrera \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\u003EAnother reform, to Article 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code, permits accused gang members or collaborators to be sentenced without any hearing before a judge, in open contravention of the American Convention on Human Rights ratified by El Salvador in 1978. This reform stipulates that if a defendant is a fugitive, the process initiated against him will continue regardless, and the accused can even be sentenced in absentia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA week into the state of exception, the Bukele administration requested three more reforms. It proposed an \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202204\/el_salvador\/26120\/Gag-Order-for-Journalism-on-Gangs.htm\"\u003Eambiguous change to the wording of article 345 of the Penal Code\u003C\/a\u003E that would punish journalists and other citizens who spread gang-related messages, which a judge determines might cause \u201canxiety\u201d in the population, to 10 to 15 years in prison. A month after this reform was passed, El Faro published \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26177\/Collapsed-Government-Talks-with-MS-13-Sparked-Record-Homicides-in-El-Salvador-Audios-Reveal.htm\"\u003Eleaked audio\u003C\/a\u003E proving that the gang massacre that had prompted the state of exception was a result of the collapse of the government\u2019s covert pact with MS-13, and further revealing that the government had illegally released a gang leader from prison to calm tensions in the streets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe government did not stop there: Bukele and his legislators requested changes to the Law for the Proscription of Gangs, Associations, and Organizations of a Criminal Nature, which \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/48495CA2-676A-4B68-BDA8-C652F375F8F2.pdf\"\u003Eincluded a clause\u003C\/a\u003E declaring \u201cany form of visual expression\u201d alluding to gangs illegal. The third decree approved that day \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/20D46BE8-B829-4D80-955F-61C1F038FF58.pdf\"\u003Eauthorized the creation\u003C\/a\u003E of the Special Law for the Disposition and Use of Goods, Money, Values and Assets Seized from Organized Crime, Terrorism and Drug Trafficking Organizations, which, among other things, extends the time period for a prosecutor to request the seizure of property that investigators allege belongs to a criminal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite these changes, cases brought by the Attorney General\u2019s Office still had one weakness: the government could not guarantee that charges would not be dismissed by a judge after a few months of investigation. Thus, between September and November 2022, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Executive Branch successfully petitioned the Legislative Assembly to approve four decrees introducing even more changes to the legal code. One decree modified the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/0E7130CE-7710-4654-80C6-ADE1DEEB6158.pdf\"\u003ETelecommunications Law\u003C\/a\u003E; another modified the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/890366EE-6BB2-46E7-AC46-54D683FD7FB1.pdf\"\u003ESpecial Law for Telecommunications Intervention\u003C\/a\u003E; and another made further changes to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/188D2557-78CE-4A01-803D-3675B3F9658C.pdf\"\u003ECriminal Procedural Code\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fourth reform, which \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.asamblea.gob.sv\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/correspondencia\/667799D2-B75A-434F-905F-5018C1454D15.pdf\"\u003Einvolved the creation of new courts\u003C\/a\u003E, merits special attention. In September 2022, the Casa Presidencial needed to ensure that judges would not dismiss cases brought by the Attorney General\u2019s Office under the state of exception. The government feared that prosecutors would close the cases because at that time, in September, the six-month timeframe that the Attorney General\u2019s Office had to complete their investigations and present evidence against defendants was beginning to expire. Aware of this vulnerability, Bukele ordered the Judicial Branch \u2014which he had \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202109\/el_salvador\/25681\/Asamblea-de-Bukele-reforma-la-ley-para-purgar-a-un-tercio-de-los-jueces.htm\"\u003Estacked with ruling party judges one year earlier\u003C\/a\u003E, in September 2021\u2014 to create specific courts for cases brought under the state of exception. These courts are called Tribunals Against Organized Crime. Normally, at the end of a six-month investigation, a judge decides whether a case merits a trial or not. When a judge rules that a case should be dismissed, by law, the person must be immediately released. And this is what the government wanted to avoid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo the Bukele administration proposed the creation of a new court system that, among other things, would eliminate one stage of the normal judicial process, by combining the last two stages: investigation and sentencing. \u201cThe right to have your case heard by an independent and impartial judge has been compromised, as have the judicial guarantees enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights,\u201d Cristosal concluded in a report published in September 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECristosal requested public information identifying the names of these special tribunal judges, but neither the National Judiciary Council (CNJ) nor the Supreme Court of Justice provided details.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\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=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38850 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Dozens of people arrive at the gates of Ilopango Prison in search of their relatives. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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 Dozens of people arrive at the gates of Ilopango Prison in search of their relatives. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/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\u003EIn addition to the creation of these new courts, the Bukele administration instituted new time limits to make it even harder for people detained under the state of exception to be released on pretrial probation. Conan Castro, Bukele\u2019s legal secretary, proposed a change to Article 17 of the Organized Crime Law. Now, under this new reform, if the Attorney General\u2019s Office \u2014currently run by a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202105\/el_salvador\/25452\/New-Legislative-Assembly-Ousts-Supreme-Court-Magistrates-and-Attorney-General.htm\"\u003Eprosecutor hand-picked by President Bukele\u003C\/a\u003E\u2014 determines that investigators need more time to gather evidence, it can petition an Organized Crime Tribunal for an additional 18 months of pretrial detention to continue investigating.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERight now, the primary mission of the Attorney General\u2019s Office is to ensure that cases are transferred to an Organized Crime Tribunal, since these are now the official courts of the state of exception. \u201c98 percent of all cases are for \u2018illicit association,\u2019 and they use this charge so that they can send people to these new courts,\u201d says \u00c1brego. \u201cThere are cases where we\u2019ve detected procedural fraud, where they arrest people in different places but then say that they were all arrested in the same place, and then this allows them to lie, and to classify it as an illicit association.\u201d This claim is corroborated by sealed case dossiers obtained by El Faro, which show \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/el_salvador\/26298\/State-of-Exception-Files-Hundreds-Arrested-for-Prior-Convictions-or-\"\u003Ehundreds of arrests made on vague or fraudulent grounds\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne year into the state of exception, and the official position of the ruling party remains the same as in April, when the emergency order was first renewed: The state of exception will be extended as long as necessary, they say, without ever defining what they mean by \u201cnecessary.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E*Translated by Max Granger\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}

      </body>
    </html>