El Salvador extends controversial anti-gang crackdown measures

El Salvador’s Congress has voted to approve another extension of emergency rules allowing police to round up suspected members of street gangs. The decision marks the 12th time the one-month extension of the measures has been approved. The measures are aimed at curbing the country’s gang violence.

The move comes the same day El Salvador’s government sent 2,000 more prisoners to the huge prison built specifically for gang members with the justice minister vowing that “they will never return” to the streets. In February scenes from an initial transfer of suspected gang members to the “Terrorism Confinement Center” circulated on social media sparking controversy. Images and video posted by the government showed prisoners closely forced to run barefoot and handcuffed down stairways and over bare ground, wearing only white shorts.

So far the crackdown has led to the arrest of over 65,000 alleged gang affiliates. Rights groups have said there is evidence of human rights violations in the arrests and prisoner abuse. One local rights group documented 3,344 cases of human rights abuses in the first 11 months of the state of emergency. Most purported cases of abuse involved instances of arbitrary arrest, according to The Associated Press.

El Salvador’s government believes the measures at large are a working strategy. Authorities registered a total of 496 homicides last year, down from 1,147 in 2021, Defense Minister Francis Merino said. The change represents a 56.8% decline in murders in 2022 amid the widespread crackdown on gang violence.

Opinion polls suggest that about 9 out of 10 Salvadorans approve of the government’s anti-crime strategy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.