El Salvador continues to hold over 80,000 detainees under emergency measures

• The Congress of El Salvador extended the previous detention order for two years.
• More than 80,000 people remain under detention, with 90% of them waiting for trial.
• The government may extend the emergency measures for another 12 months.

AP NEWS EL SALVADOR, El Salvador — The Congress of El Salvador voted on Friday to extend the previous detention order for over 80,000 individuals who were detained under extraordinary circumstances, while investigations into their possible links to criminal gangs continue.

Congress, controlled by President Nayib Bukele and his allies, approved 57 votes "for" and 3 "against" the extension of the previous detention order.

Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado noted that extending the detention allows the government to conduct more detailed investigations, present substantial evidence, and secure convictions against members of organized crime.

Lawmakers also granted the government the option to extend the emergency measures for another 12 months if deemed necessary.

The improvement in public safety during the state of emergency has increased Bukele's popularity, but the suspension of certain constitutional rights and the overall lack of due process has drawn criticism both domestically and internationally.

Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz from the VAMOS party stated that this indicates the "inability of the government to ensure justice." She emphasized that there had been more than two years for a serious investigation of all cases and the possibility to send all detainees to court, but since they were not processed in time, the National Assembly must assist the Attorney General's Office.

Following the spike in violence from gangs in early 2022, Bukele urged lawmakers to grant him extraordinary powers to respond to mass killings. Among the laws that Congress agreed to suspend were maximum detention terms for detainees under emergency measures and basic protections, such as access to a lawyer.

Since then, over 88,000 individuals have been detained under connections to gangs, with 90% still waiting for trial.

In July 2023, Congress voted to grant the government 24 months for the criminal prosecution of gang members. This term concludes at the end of this month, September 25.

Delgado indicated that they plan to conduct hundreds of mass trials, as they have been able to separate the accused into groups. "This large number of people will not be tried one-by-one," said Delgado. "It is necessary to allow sufficient time for the judges to obtain evidence linking each of them, and then to issue verdicts according to each law."

Tags: Politics/Crime