(San Salvador) El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly on Wednesday again extended a month’s state of emergency to maintain President Nayib Bukele’s “war” on violent gangs, which has already led to nearly 66,000 arrests .
This extension, approved by 67 of the 84 deputies of the unicameral congress, is the twelfth since the entry into force of this exceptional regime in March 2022.
“With 67 votes in favor, the initiative of the President of the Republic has been approved by the Council of Ministers to extend the emergency regime throughout the national territory for a period of 30 days”, declared the President of the Assembly legislative, Ernesto Castro.
The “government-led war on gangs has provided the Salvadoran population with a sense of security, as evidenced by surveys,” the legislative decree said.
According to official figures, this “war” against violent gangs has already led to 65,795 arrests, and 2,513 firearms have been seized.
The state of emergency, which has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, allows arrests without warrants. It was established after a wave of 87 assassinations attributed to “maras”, gangs that spread terror in El Salvador and neighboring countries.
At the beginning of February, the government inaugurated a gigantic penitentiary in the south-east of the country, on the outskirts of the city of Tecoluca, where 40,000 suspected members of these gangs will be detained.
A contingent of 2,000 suspected gangsters was transferred earlier Wednesday to this facility equipped with high-tech surveillance, after an initial group of 2,000 detainees in late February.
