The Parliament of El Salvador, at the request of President Nayib Bukele, approved on Sunday the establishment of a state of emergency for one month in this small Central American country in order to combat the violence of criminal gangs, accused of having committed 62 murders in 24 hours.
The decree, approved by a large majority of Parliament, provides that “an emergency regime is declared throughout the national territory due to serious disturbances to public order by criminal groups”.
It restricts freedom of assembly, the inviolability of correspondence and communications, the right to see a lawyer in detention and authorizes arrests without a warrant.
Mr. Bukele also decreed “maximum alert” in all prisons.
“All cells will be closed 24/7, no one is allowed out,” the president tweeted. “It’s a message to the gangs: because of your actions, your ‘guys’ won’t see a ray of sunshine.”
This state of emergency “will allow our government to protect the lives of Salvadorans and deal with crime”, assured the President of the Legislative Assembly Ernesto Castro, on Twitter.
President Bukele clarified that for “the vast majority of people, life will continue as before…unless you are a member of a gang or are considered a suspect by the authorities”.
Armed with assault rifles and equipped with bulletproof vests, police and soldiers patrol the streets while making arrests.
According to the official report, the central department of La Libertad has registered twelve homicides since Friday, followed by the capital San Salvador and by the department of Ahuachapan, with nine murders each. The rest is distributed in the eleven other departments of the country.
El Salvador’s police and army on Saturday launched an operation against the Mara Salvatrucha, one of the country’s most dangerous gangs.
Several leaders of the gang have been arrested and are accused of being “responsible for the homicides recorded in recent hours”, police said.
Authorities said Sunday evening that “more than 600 gang members” were arrested.
“Rebound in homicides”
According to the Salvadorian Constitution, a state of emergency can be established “in case of war, invasion of territory, rebellion, sedition, catastrophe, epidemic or other general calamity, or serious disruption of public order”.
The head of state asked the prosecutor’s office to treat all cases of gang members with the same “efficiency”, warning that he would keep an eye on “judges who favor criminals”.
“We will not back down in this war on gangs, we will not rest until the criminals responsible for these acts are caught and brought to justice,” police tweeted.
The Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18 and other gangs living primarily on drug trafficking and extortion have about 70,000 members in El Salvador, of whom more than 17,000 are incarcerated, authorities say.
The NGO Human Rights Watch is following “with concern the serious increase in homicides” in El Salvador, said Juan Pappier, researcher in the Americas division of the organization.
“There is an urgent need for the government to protect the population with durable measures that respect human rights. Security policy must always take place within the framework of the rule of law,” he added.
The Salvadoran president, 40 years old and in power since 2019, enjoys strong popularity due in particular to his promises to fight organized crime.
But his authoritarian leanings earned him vehement criticism from his opponents and the international community.
El Salvador recorded 1,140 homicides in 2021 – or 18 per 100,000 inhabitants – the lowest figure since the end of the civil war in 1992.