El Salvador Extends Detention Of Suspected Gang Members
Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained -- some of whom opposition figures and human rights defenders maintain are innocent -- since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in 2022 that allowed arrests without warrants.
The Legislative Assembly, which has 57 members of Bukele's ruling party and three from the opposition, approved on Friday a reform to a law regulating investigations into organized crime.
The approval came just 10 days before a two-year deadline ran out for charges to be filed for the imprisoned detainees.
The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure.
One of the provisions of the reform said the Attorney General's office "will bring charges against the organized crime and its members... within a maximum period of 24 months," while also allowing for a 12-month extension.
To file the charges, the Attorney General's office will "group the defendants into a single case" for each gang, with the main ones under scrutiny being the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs.
Around 300 prosecutors will present evidence in roughly 600 mass trials for the suspects, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee on Thursday.
Delgado said the trials will be divided by the organization, where they operated, or what crimes the detainees are suspected of committing.
Inside the assembly, opposition lawmaker Francisco Lira warned that "innocent" people could be tried in the mass trials, which he estimated could be "40 percent" of those detained.
"I do not defend gangs, criminals, nor extortionists (but) if there are innocent people, they are being sentenced to spend more time in prison" due to the delays, Lira said.
Under the reforms, the mass trials will remain open if more defendants are added to the same case -- but if no new defendants are added within two years, the judge may issue a ruling.
If prosecutors do not file an indictment within a maximum period of three years, the judge may dismiss the case.
Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz said the reforms are "a reflection of the lack of capacity possessed by the institutions that are supposed to administer justice in our country."
"Because in more than two years they have not done what they are supposed to do... which is fully investigate the facts," she added.
Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders sound the alarm over arbitrary arrests and growing authoritarianism.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
El Salvador Extends Detention Of Suspected Gang Members
Tens of thousands of suspected gang members arrested under an internationally criticized crackdown in El Salvador will be detained without trial until at least 2027, after lawmakers approved an extension Friday. Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained -- some of whom opposition figures and human rights defenders maintain are innocent -- since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in 2022 that allowed arrests without warrants. The Legislative Assembly, which has 57 members of Bukele's ruling party and three from the opposition, approved on Friday a reform to a law regulating investigations into organized crime. The approval came just 10 days before a two-year deadline ran out for charges to be filed for the imprisoned detainees. The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure. One of the provisions of the reform said the Attorney General's office "will bring charges against the organized crime and its members... within a maximum period of 24 months," while also allowing for a 12-month extension. To file the charges, the Attorney General's office will "group the defendants into a single case" for each gang, with the main ones under scrutiny being the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs. Around 300 prosecutors will present evidence in roughly 600 mass trials for the suspects, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee on Thursday. Delgado said the trials will be divided by the organization, where they operated, or what crimes the detainees are suspected of committing. Inside the assembly, opposition lawmaker Francisco Lira warned that "innocent" people could be tried in the mass trials, which he estimated could be "40 percent" of those detained. "I do not defend gangs, criminals, nor extortionists (but) if there are innocent people, they are being sentenced to spend more time in prison" due to the delays, Lira said. Under the reforms, the mass trials will remain open if more defendants are added to the same case -- but if no new defendants are added within two years, the judge may issue a ruling. If prosecutors do not file an indictment within a maximum period of three years, the judge may dismiss the case. Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz said the reforms are "a reflection of the lack of capacity possessed by the institutions that are supposed to administer justice in our country." "Because in more than two years they have not done what they are supposed to do... which is fully investigate the facts," she added. Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders sound the alarm over arbitrary arrests and growing authoritarianism.
Int'l Business Times
3 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
El Salvador Plans 600 Mass Trials For Suspected Gang Members
El Salvador plans to hold around 600 mass trials for the tens of thousands suspected gang members who have been detained without charges in the country since 2022, the Central American country's attorney general said Thursday. Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained -- some of whom human rights defenders maintain are innocent -- since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency three years ago that allowed arrests without warrants. The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure. "Approximately 300 prosecutors will be responsible for presenting evidence before appropriate courts in the approximately 600 trials that need to be initiated," Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee. Delgado also suggested changes to the country's law against organized crime that could see the detainees remain in jail without charge for up to three more years. The committee gave a favorable opinion on Delgado's suggested changes, which included giving him two more years -- with the possibility of a third -- to file charges. "A considerable amount of time will have to pass for a judge to make a decision," Delgado said. He did not provide details about when the trials could start -- or the crimes the detainees could be charged with. The changes to the law are expected to be approved by Congress, which is dominated by Bukele's party, on Friday. That would be just days before a two-year deadline runs out for the attorney general to file charges. Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders sound the alarm over arbitrary arrests and growing authoritarianism. He recently made headlines by taking in migrants from the mass deportation drive of his ally US President Donald Trump and putting them in a maximum-security prison, where some have reported mistreatment. A report released by the US State Department this week declined to criticize El Salvador, saying there were "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses" in the country and instead noting a "historic low" in crime. Lawyer and human rights activist Ingrid Escobar warned that thousands of innocent people have been thrown in jail. "The innocent will pay for the guilty," she said, adding: "Even dead people will be convicted."
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Bukele Critics Face Long Exile From El Salvador Homeland
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has tightened his grip on power and made life ever-more difficult for critics -- now a growing number face the prospect of a long and painful exile. At 44 years old, the self-styled world's "coolest dictator" has been in power for six years, and has just scrapped constitutional term limits, raising the prospect he could rule for many more. For good measure, he and his allies also passed a "foreign agents" law, similar to those used to crush dissent in Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Against this backdrop, about 80 human rights activists, journalists, lawyers and environmentalists have left El Salvador in the last four months, according to an AFP tally, fleeing what they call "escalating repression" and the risk of imprisonment. AFP spoke to several of those in exile. Here are the stories of four. Bukele's government did not respond to requests for comment. But the president -- popular with Salvadorans for his "war" on gangs that once ravaged the country -- accuses his critics of "distorting" and "manipulating" the truth. Ingrid Escobar's left arm is bandaged. Shortly after fleeing her homeland with her nine- and 11-year-old children, she underwent surgery for a tumor, leaving a wound that has yet to heal. "I prioritized my health, my freedom, and my children," says the director of Socorro Juridico (Legal Aid), which assists prisoners' families. Now in Mexico, the 43-year-old recalls how police patrolled near her home "twice a week." She lived in that shadow until a friend from the prosecutor's office warned her that she was on a list of 11 people about to be arrested. "I had no choice" but to leave she said. "Because of the intimidation and fear of dying in prison without medical treatment." "I grabbed some clothes and left when I could," she said. The prospect of being jailed in El Salvador is not far-fetched. Escobar has been a staunch critic of Bukele's state of emergency, which was imposed in 2022 and has led to about 88,000 people being detained. The government accuses them all of being gang members. But with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure. Escobar insists that among the prisoners are "thousands of innocents." An estimated 433 have died in prison, although the true figure may never be known. Her organization continues to operate in El Salvador, but they are at "high risk," Escobar laments. "Consolidating the dictatorship involves imprisoning human rights defenders to silence them," she claimed. "There is no such thing as a 'cool dictatorship.'" Ruth Lopez was already in pyjamas when police arrived to arrest her on the night of May 18. The lawyer, who led the anti-corruption unit of the humanitarian NGO Cristosal, was herself was accused of illicit enrichment by a Bukele-aligned prosecutor. Her high-profile arrest marked a turning point. A month later, her colleague Rene Valiente, head of investigations, went into exile along with 20 other Cristosal activists. "There were attacks on social networks, stigmatization of our work, surveillance by security forces," recounts the 39-year-old lawyer from Cristosal's office in Guatemala. A constitutional lawyer and an environmental lawyer were also arrested in May and June, and the "foreign agents law" stipulated strict new laws for NGOs, including a 30 percent tax on their income. Amid all this, the US administration of President Donald Trump has been notably muted in its condemnation. Valiente and Lopez continue to advise the families of the 252 Venezuelans deported from the United States and who spent four months in the mega-prison Bukele built for gang members. "He exercises repression because he has the validation of the United States and has undermined democratic checks and balances" said Valiente. "We will continue working from here for a country that doesn't have to choose between security, or rights," he said. When the Bukele-controlled Congress lifted the ban on metal mining last December, many Salvadorans took to the streets to protest. An environmental leader with a decade's standing, Amalia Lopez could not be absent. But after helping file a legal challenge against the new rules the 45-year-old was forced to retreat from the fight and leave her country in April. "I felt watched. I thought about protecting myself, letting the pressure subside, and returning, but I am no longer safe there," she told AFP from Costa Rica. In May, an environmental defender and a community leader protesting with farmers near Bukele's residence were detained. "With such overwhelming military and political power, we can't do much," said Lopez, who also defends communities' rights to water and land threatened by "powerful economic groups." All her work and affections "were left there" she said. "With indefinite re-election, an early return is impossible. Now it's an increasingly distant reality." Jorge Beltran still has his suitcases packed because he's seeking asylum in another country. The 55-year-old left El Salvador for Guatemala on June 14 "totally devastated," without his wife and children. "I am emotionally unwell. But in El Salvador, practicing free and critical journalism is no longer safe," he said from his small rented room. A journalist for 23 years, Beltran is one of 47 reporters who have gone into exile in recent months, according to the professional association APES. Working for El Diario de Hoy, he denounced what he called "corrupt Bukele officials and human rights violations." It was no easy task, Beltran said, as the government "closed access to public documents." He decided to leave when people close to power warned him he was being targeted by the police. "It's a very bitter pill," he said. Now the prospect of Bukele's indefinite re-election "erases the hope of returning in just a few years." Although he is currently unemployed, Beltran plans to create a website to report from abroad on what is happening in El Salvador. "I will be far away, but I will not be silent," he insisted. Ingrid Escobar has been a staunch critic of Bukele's state of emergency, which was imposed in 2022 and has led to about 88,000 people being detained AFP Jorge Beltran, who like others has fled to neighboring Guatemala, said 'practicing free and critical journalism is no longer safe' in El Salvador AFP Rene Valiente went into exile in June along with 20 other members of the Cristosal NGO after a colleague was arrested AFP Environmental leader Amalia Lopez fled El Salvador after helping file a legal challenge to new mining rules AFP
