President Nayib Bukele arrested 3% of the male population of El Salvador, almost exclusively from poor neighborhoods, and many without trials.
Now he’s saying that 50% of those victims of the state will be released on parole.
Critics of his draconian security policy are calling it an admission that many of those detained are not guilty of any crimes.
Since Bukele declared a “temporary” state of emergency, security forces have arrested more than 100,000 people in arbitrary sweeps carried out by police. His CECOT “mega-prison” is one of the most notorious in the Americas. Detainees are regularly subjected to beatings, sleep and food deprivation, and denied regular medical attention.
576 people have died in custody, and Human Rights Watch and other watchdog organizations have reported conditions that amount to torture.
Many were convicted in mass trials that violated their rights to due process, the majority for terrorism related charges, a term the Salvadoran government uses to describe those who have allegedly aided gang members.
In 2022, El Salvador declared a supposedly temporary State of Exception which greatly expanded the powers of security forces and effectively abolished many civil rights in the country.
The emergency measure has now stretched into its 5th year.
The “Bukele model” has been emulated by right-wing presidents in other Latin American countries as well, though none have achieved the security gains.
Bukele, who illegally ran for a second term in El Salvador, and is almost certain to continue in office after that, is strongly supported by the United States, who provide cover for rampant human and civil rights abuses.
Its part of a larger pattern of US support for authoritarianism across the region. Sign up for Pirate Wire Services for details, context, and on-the-ground coverage in Latin America.
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