{"code":"26878","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"2649","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202306\/el_salvador\/26878","link_edit":"","name":"North Carolina Rapper Among 15 Hip-Hop Artists Jailed under State of Exception","slug":"north-carolina-rapper-among-15-hip-hop-artists-jailed-under-state-of-exception","info":"A North Carolina hip-hop artist was detained in January under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception for appearing \u201cnervous\u201d to police and for lyrics alluding to his birth in an area once controlled by gangs. Hip-hop collectives say 15 rappers have been imprisoned under the state of exception.","mtag":"Violence","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/elemus'\u003E Efren Lemus\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"efren-lemus":{"sort":"elemus","slug":"efren-lemus","path":"efren_lemus","name":"Efren Lemus","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"2649","pict":{"cms-image-000039075-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"39075","name":"cms-image-000039075.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039075.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039075.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000039075-jpeg","text":"<p>Rapper Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, born in El Salvador, is also a U.S. citizen.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ERapper Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, born in El Salvador, is also a U.S. citizen.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000039076-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"39076","name":"cms-image-000039076.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039076.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039076.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000039076-jpeg","text":"<p>A copy of Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s U.S. passport. Photo Carlos Barrera\u00a0<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EA copy of Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s U.S. passport. Photo Carlos Barrera\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000039077-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"39077","name":"cms-image-000039077.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039077.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039077.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000039077-jpeg","text":"<p>Salvadoran hip-hop collectives circulated photographs of some of the rappers and freestylers imprisoned under the state of exception. \u201cJustice for our brothers!\u201d one message read.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESalvadoran hip-hop collectives circulated photographs of some of the rappers and freestylers imprisoned under the state of exception. \u201cJustice for our brothers!\u201d one message read.\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":39075,"date":{"live":"2023\/06\/07"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"06","data_post_dateLive_DD":"07","text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202305\/el_salvador\/26860\/barrio-el-calvario-es-where-im-from-la-frase-que-tiene-en-la-carcel-a-un-rapero-estadounidense\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn March 2022, Nelson Vladimir Hern\u00e1ndez Tobar, a hip-hop artist called N-Real, uploaded a two-minute music video to YouTube. The rapper, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, is originally from El Salvador but has lived in Raleigh, North Carolina for years. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T5rISH1UC0c\"\u003E In the video\u003C\/a\u003E, recorded from the U.S., N-Real dedicates a few lines to his place of birth in the department of Izalco:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E \u201cNahuizalco en las venas y en el coraz\u00f3n, Barrio El Calvario es where I\u2019m from, caminando con piquete cabr\u00f3n\u201d \u003C\/em\u003E (\u201cNahuizalco in my veins and heart, Barrio Calvario is where I\u2019m from, bouncin\u2019 with a shot of rum\u201d). In the video, which has since been viewed around 5,300 times, Hern\u00e1ndez challenges \u201cfake little rappers,\u201d saying he will leave them \u201clying on the pavement.\u201d He makes no reference to any gang.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a visit to El Salvador in January, he was detained under the state of exception. He has remained in prison for five months despite having no criminal record of any kind. Amid a government crackdown has led to mass arbitrary arrests, police used the song to accuse him of promoting violence as an active gang member because the neighborhood he mentions in the video, like hundreds of other communities in the country, was once controlled by gangs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe police report included in Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s indictment for \u201cillicit associations\u201d in a Sonsonate court reads: \u201cHe has appeared on social media sites such as YouTube and has composed several songs that incite and promote gang violence, and he mentions colonias with a presence of the 18[th Street] gang, which is active in Nahuizalco.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez created the YouTube channel in February 2011 and has posted 16 music videos in the past eight years. He also has ten tracks available on his \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/4kOpUsvytdjnKK7rFsvkTx?si=SAVsyXDGQzmAOo-R0QrgNw\"\u003E Spotify page\u003C\/a\u003E, \u201cN-Real la Mala Influencia.\u201d His most recent track on both platforms is titled \u201cFreestyle,\u201d released in March of last year, and features provocations aimed at other rappers. El Faro listened to this and all of his other tracks, and found no direct reference to any Salvadoran gang.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn \u201cFreestyle,\u201d he raps, originally in Spanish: \u201c\u003Cem\u003ELleg\u00f3 la N, bien marihuano, d\u00e1ndole muerte a todos estos gusanos, raperitos de mentira, eh, mejor que se acuesten temprano\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d (\u201cThe N is on the scene, stoned as hell, killin\u2019 all these worms, fake little rappers, put \u2018em to bed early\u201d). but in other tracks, he raps about things like, \u201cthinking about cheesy stuff to give my lovers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the fact that \u201cFreestyle\u201d is directed against other rappers and never once mentions 18th Street or any other gang, the police claim that \u201chis videos on YouTube allude to the Barrio 18 gang.\u201d To justify the arrest, police produced a series of arbitrary or false documents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe \u2018nervous\u2019 rapper\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez immigrated to the United States when he was 16. His parents applied for his residency and he eventually obtained citizenship. In the 12 years since then, he has only visited El Salvador four times, and never longer than a month, according to the Salvadoran customs authority. Work and tax records submitted to the court show that for the past eight years he has worked in the U.S. installing floors for the companies Blair Duron and Floorchem, Inc.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez arrived in El Salvador in the morning on December 29, 2022. His fianc\u00e9, a stylist whom he was planning to marry two weeks later, was waiting for him at the Comalapa International Airport. \u201cWe\u2019ve always walked past the police, about three times we walked past them, and everything was fine. Nothing happened,\u201d his girlfriend says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn the evening of January 10, Hern\u00e1ndez accompanied his fianc\u00e9 to a relative\u2019s house, where she was getting a pedicure. When they finished around 7:30 p.m., the couple went out to dinner at a restaurant near Nahuizalco\u2019s central park.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs they walked past a police outpost, they heard the sound of sudden braking. Four agents jumped out of a vehicle and ordered them to hand over their ID cards and phones. The police put Hern\u00e1ndez against the wall, lifted up his shirt, and took pictures of his chest tattoos: a clown face, a marijuana leaf, a rose, a dollar sign, and a name. Not a single tattoo relating to gangs.\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=4000&ImageHeight=2667&ImageId=39076 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"A copy of Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s U.S. passport. Photo Carlos Barrera\u00a0\" \/\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 A copy of Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s U.S. passport. Photo Carlos Barrera\u00a0 \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\u003EPolice and court documents obtained by El Faro state that while \u201cofficers were carrying out preventive patrols (\u2026) they observed a suspicious subject who is not usually seen in that sector.\u201d They added that \u201cthe subject became nervous upon seeing the police.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAuthorities maintain that arrests made under the state of exception are the result of criminal investigations, but El Faro has published extensive reporting documenting how police arrested hundreds of people using \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/el_salvador\/26298\/State-of-Exception-Files-Hundreds-Arrested-for-Prior-Convictions-or-%E2%80%9CLooking-Nervous%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003E ambiguous criteria\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0like \u201cappearing nervous\u201d or \u201cacting suspicious.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter Hern\u00e1ndez was taken the police station that night \u201cthe police began to intimidate us psychologically,\u201d recalls his girlfriend, whose testimony is also included in court records. \u201cThey would say things like: \u2018We\u2019re gonna talk to the president, see what he says to do with this one. As for you, a female officer is on her way to come see how many tattoos \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E have.\u2019 They kept telling me to say goodbye to him, that I wouldn\u2019t see him again for another 20 years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe night of their arrest, officers called the Integrated Police Information System to ascertain whether Hern\u00e1ndez had an arrest warrant or any criminal record. The operator responded that there was nothing on file against him. But the very next day, with a YouTube video and his alleged nervousness as evidence, police booked him anyway as an alleged gang member.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom rapper to gangster in under 24 hours\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez spent that first night in the police barracks. The next day, he appeared in the police tracking system as a known gang member with a criminal background, booked as a member of the Pee-Wee Wainos, aka Peque\u00f1os Borrachos Dieciochos, a \u201ctribe\u201d of 18th Street. The profile was created at 9:00 a.m. on January 11 \u2014 13 hours after the arrest.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe police had turned him into a gang member overnight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn gang parlance, \u003Cem\u003Etribu\u003C\/em\u003E, or tribe, referrers to a group of gang members who control a given territory. The police claim that Hern\u00e1ndez was a member of a tribe known as the Pee-Wee Wainos, or Peque\u00f1os Borrachos Dieciochos, which operated in a neighborhood of Nahuizalco known as El Calvario, a claim the rapper\u2019s family and friends reject.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHow could we be involved with a gang that killed one of our aunts, who worked washing clothes, and one of our uncles, who worked as a carpenter? We were \u003Cem\u003Evictims\u003C\/em\u003E of the gangs,\u201d\u00a0Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s sister, who lives in North Carolina, told El Faro.\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=4000&ImageHeight=2600&ImageId=39075 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Rapper Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, born in El Salvador, is also a U.S. citizen.\" \/\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 Rapper Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, born in El Salvador, is also a U.S. citizen. \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\u003EAn hour later, at 10:15 a.m., police produced a map of what they claimed was the structure of the gang operating in the El Calvario neighborhood. The organizational schematic included photos of several gang members already profiled by police, but they had added a photo of Hern\u00e1ndez, taken the night before, into the mix. This document was signed by the head inspector of the Nahuizalco Subdelegation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to another document that also bears the signature of the same inspector, police cited the rapper\u2019s arrest the day prior as proof of his criminal record. They accused him of composing and performing a song that incites and promotes terrorist violence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese three documents are the basis for the state\u2019s claim that Hern\u00e1ndez is guilty of \u201cillicit associations.\u201d There is no accusation in the court file that he committed any crime typical of gang members, like murder or extortion, nor any description of what role he allegedly played in 18th Street.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez was then transferred to Ilopango Prison, and then to the Zacatecoluca Prison Farm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEl Faro made multiple phone calls to the Nahuizalco Subdelegation and has submitted several requests for comment since February to the National Civil Police and the Ministry of Security on \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202302\/el_salvador\/26724\/Salvadoran-Police-Confirmed-Arbitrary-Arrest-of-Bricklayer-but-He-Remains-Detained-Nine-Months-Later.htm\"\u003E arbitrary arrests under the state of exception\u003C\/a\u003E, but has received no response.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile N-Real\u2019s track includes phrases like, \u201c\u003Cem\u003ENo me hablen mierdas, me pongo violento, quedan tirados en el pavimento\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d (\u201cDon\u2019t talk shit to me, I\u2019ll get violent, leave you lying on the sidewalk\u201d), hip-hop as a genre, which originated in the United States, is known for its tendency to include lyrics that depict street violence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn El Salvador, one hip-hip group, for example, recorded a track with lyrics alluding to the murder of police officers. And across the country, on the radio and at neighborhood street festivals, people play songs by foreign rappers with violent lyrics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOf all of his tracks, there\u2019s only one that mentions Barrio El Calvario,\u201d says a friend of Hern\u00e1ndez who lives in El Salvador and asked to remain anonymous for fear of arrest. \u201cThe police chief says it promotes violence? In December, Los Tigres del Norte came here to sing their \u003Cem\u003E narcocorridos \u003C\/em\u003E . So I guess all of those Mexican bands that sing \u003Cem\u003Enarcocorridos\u003C\/em\u003E should be put in prison? It\u2019s ridiculous that he was arrested.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the time police produced these three documents linking the North Carolina rapper to the gang, the artist\u2019s photo had already been circulating on social media. On the night of January 10, police photographed him at the Nahuizalco police station wearing jeans and a white Adidas sweater, his hands cuffed behind his back.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarly the next day, that photo had been published on the \u201cGrupera Noticias 93.3 FM\u201d Facebook page, one of the most popular sites in Sonsonate: \u201cPolice have captured an alleged performer of songs alluding to anti-social groups.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHern\u00e1ndez\u2019s sister \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grupera.nahuizalco\/posts\/pfbid03o7xixwLLdDmYgsjY5w1diLQhsbrVCF8PXp2KGEEWtNWyEAa4SZKc3oXkUqpFVxzl?locale=es_LA\"\u003E commented on the post\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0that \u201cdefamation is also a crime.\u201d Another Facebook user responded with a photo of her detained brother with his shirt off, revealing his chest tattoos. That photo was also taken at the Nahuizalco police station on the night of January 10, 2023. The two photos that circulated on social media are the same ones taken by police and used as evidence of Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s alleged gang ties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf the photos were for official police files, how did a digital news outlet get access them?\u201d his friend says. \u201cHow is it possible that they linked him to a gang when he had just barely arrived to El Salvador on December 29? Did they use that Facebook post to create his police file?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOther rappers in prison\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EN-Real is neither the first nor the only rapper imprisoned under the state of exception. At the end of May 2022, Salvadoran news outlet \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.revistafactum.com\/raperos-regimen-excepcion\/\"\u003E Revista Factum\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0reported on the arrests of Bennett Ruano (Diktx), Carlos Figueroa (Anormal) and Ren\u00e9 Linares (Visionario), three hip-hop artists who made a living performing impromptu freestyle raps to passengers on city buses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERuano and Figueroa were arrested on April 18, 2022, during the first month of the state of exception, while they were buying food at a market in Sonsonate. Linares was apprehended on April 22 when he went to the offices of the National Civil Police to request a background clearance to be hired as a cleaner at a state social security office in Metap\u00e1n.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGuadalupe, the mother of Diktx, says that her son is still detained. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard from him for 13 months. I go to Mariona [Prison] every week because I\u2019ve been told that he\u2019s in sector three, but I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s alive or dead. I haven\u2019t seen him, and I don\u2019t know why he was arrested. I\u2019ve asked the prosecutor, but he just gave me the runaround. I don\u2019t know who else to turn to.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNo, he still hasn\u2019t been released. Right now my parents are at Mariona getting a package for him,\u201d Christian, a brother of Linares, who is considered one of the pioneering rappers of his generation in Santa Ana, said on May 28. El Faro was unable to reach a relative of Figueroa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn May 26, 2022, the Salvadoran news program \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=338379858429967\"\u003E Punto Noticias reported\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0the arrest of hip-hop artist Miguel Ruiz (Strap MC), the founder of the ruling Nuevas Ideas party chapter in Chalchuapa, Santa Ana, and an employee at one of the urban welfare centers established by the Bukele government\u2019s Directorate for the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric, known as Urban Centers for Wellbeing and Opportunities (CUBO), according to his family.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA year earlier, in 2021, Ruiz rapped at a Nuevas Ideas campaign event in support of the Bukele government: \u201c\u003Cem\u003ETodos sabemos, claro, quien va para afuera, el 28 de febrero vamos a ense\u00f1ar escuela, tenemos diputados que valen la pena\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d (\u201cWe all know who\u2019s leavin\u2019, on February 28 we\u2019re gonna teach \u2018em, our people in congress know how to beat \u2018em\u201d). The next year, Ruiz was detained under the state of exception and accused of \u201cillicit associations.\u201d A relative told El Faro that he has since been released from prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHip-hop artists and collectives in El Salvador have denounced the arrest of at least ten other rappers and freestylers. One of the latest denunciations appeared in WhatsApp groups and on social media the day before the Freestyle Master Series Caribe (FMS), an April 30 rap competition organized by Urban Roosters, a company in downtown San Salvador.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUrban Roosters, headquartered in Spain, and describes itself as \u201can ecosystem facilitating the discovery and empowerment of talent through hip-hop culture.\u201d In February 2019, Urban Roosters published a post on its website claiming that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele \u201chas the distinction of promoting freestyle as a way for youth to avoid getting into trouble.\u201d The post was accompanied by a video of a rapper who supports Bukele.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe day before the FMS Caribe event in San Salvador, hip-hop artists and collectives circulated the following message, and others similar to it, on WhatsApp groups and social media: \u201cFreestylers and rappers have been imprisoned under the state of exception, by the very government that claims to support the movement. We demand justice for our brothers!\u201d The messages were accompanied by photographs of the detained, identified by their stage names: B-Shop, Toga, Visionario, Hackerclan, Hverso, Diktx, Anormal, Rochac, Sykroo, Realista, Chocobrow, Mafa, Kear in the hood, Blass and Art.\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=4000&ImageHeight=2600&ImageId=39077 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Salvadoran hip-hop collectives circulated photographs of some of the rappers and freestylers imprisoned under the state of exception. \u201cJustice for our brothers!\u201d one message read.\" \/\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 hip-hop collectives circulated photographs of some of the rappers and freestylers imprisoned under the state of exception. \u201cJustice for our brothers!\u201d one message read. \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\u003ESome of the hip-hop collectives also called out Salvadoran rappers for not explicitly denouncing the state of exception during FMS Caribe. One of the performers that did speak out was Guatemalan freestyler Ritmodelia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u003Cem\u003EMe pongo la camisa de mi selecci\u00f3n porque a mi Guatemala la llevo en el coraz\u00f3n, una cosa pa' decir el r\u00e9gimen de excepci\u00f3n, libertad para los rapers que a\u00fan siguen en prisi\u00f3n\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d (\u201cI wear my team\u2019s colors \u2018cause Guatemala\u2019s in my heart, I\u2019ve got one thing to say to the state of exception, freedom for all the rappers still in prison!\u201d). El Faro requested an interview with Ritmodelia but had not received a response by the time of publication.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite hip-hop\u2019s history of rebelling against inequality and injustice, during the FMS Caribe, which took place in downtown San Salvador, the logo of government was constantly projected on stage. Ruling party officials, such as legislator William Soriano and the head of the Directorate for the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric, Carlos Marroqu\u00edn, were in attendance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarroqu\u00edn, himself a rapper who goes by the stage name Slipt, is one of the Bukele government officials who participated in \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202205\/el_salvador\/26177\/Collapsed-Government-Talks-with-MS-13-Sparked-Record-Homicides-in-El-Salvador-Audios-Reveal.htm\"\u003E secret negotiations with gang leadership\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0that broke down in March 2022, leading to a wave of violence and preluding the declaration of a state of exception.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp align=\"right\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E*Translated by Max Granger\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}