Salvadoran gang crackdown (2022–present)

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"Régimen de Excepción" redirects here. For the Honduran crackdown of the same name, see Honduran gang crackdown (2022–present).

Salvadoran gang crackdown (2022–present)
Guerra Contra las Pandillas
Clockwise from top left: the detention of suspected gang members by the police, a police search of a house, imprisoned gang members, soldiers on patrol in the streets.
Clockwise from top left: the detention of suspected gang members by the police, a police search of a house, imprisoned gang members, soldiers on patrol in the streets.
Date
  • 27 March 2022 – present
  • (1 year, 1 month, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
El Salvador
Caused bySpike in murders in late-March 2022
StatusOngoing
Parties to the civil conflict
Lead figures
  • Uncentralized leadership
Casualties
Death(s)144–152 (as of 10 May 2023)[1]
Arrested68,579 (as of 12 May 2023)[1]
Presidente Bukele (cropped).jpg
This article is part of
a series about
Nayib Bukele
Political offices
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Incumbent – Cabinet
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Nayib Bukele's signature
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The Salvadoran gang crackdown, referred to in El Salvador as the Régimen de Excepción (Spanish for State of Exception)[2] and the Guerra Contra las Pandillas (Spanish for War Against the Gangs),[3] began in March 2022 in response to a crime spike between 25 and 27 March 2022, when 87 people were killed in El Salvador. The Salvadoran government blamed the spike in murders on criminal gangs in the country, resulting in the country's legislature approving a state of emergency that suspended the rights of association and legal counsel, and increased the time spent in detention without charge, among other measures that expanded the powers of law enforcement in the country.

As of 12 May 2023, 68,579 people accused of having gang affiliations have been arrested,[1] which has overcrowded El Salvador's prisons. As of 16 May 2023, 5,000 people who were arrested have been released.[4]

Domestically, the crackdown has been popular among Salvadorans weary of gang violence. Conversely, human rights groups expressed concern that the arrests were arbitrary and had little to do with gang violence, and several U.S. government representatives expressed concern about the violence in the country and the methods used to combat it; these comments were criticized by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

In January 2023, Minister of Defense René Merino Monroy announced that the government registered 496 homicides in 2022, a 56.8% decrease from 1,147 homicides in 2021. He attributed the decrease in homicides to the gang crackdown.[5] That same month, the government opened the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a prison with a capacity for 40,000 prisoners.[6]

Background[edit]

Historical homicide rates[edit]

For decades, El Salvador had one of the highest rates of gang-related violence in the world. In 2015, the country's homicide rate reached 103 homicides per 100,000 people–or 6,650 homicides registered that year–making it the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere.[7] By 2018, the homicide rate decreased to 52 homicides per 100,000 people (3,340 homicides).[8]

In June 2019, newly inaugurated President Nayib Bukele made combatting gang violence a priority for his administration,[9] and announced his "Territorial Control Plan" which sought to crackdown on gang violence and improve security within the country. Actions taken by the country's security forces included the increase of military and police presence in specific municipalities where gang influence was significant, instituting lockdowns in prisons by confining prisoners to their cells and severing cell phone service in prisons, and improving the equipment and technology used by the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Salvadoran Army.[10]

In 2021, the homicide rate reached the lowest it has been since the Salvadoran Civil War ended in 1992, with 18 homicides per 100,000 people.[11] Although the decline in homicides began in 2016, Bukele attributed it to his policies,[9] and it has been one of his most-touted accomplishments.[12] Bukele enjoys an extremely high approval rating of approximately 85%,[12] one of the highest in the world.[13] In December 2021, the United States government accused Bukele of negotiating a secret agreement with the gangs, reducing violence in return for financial and prison benefits. Additionally, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Salvadoran officials it claimed conducted the talks. Bukele called the accusations of making a deal a "lie"[9] and denounced previous administrations who made similar deals.[12]

April 2020 prison crackdown[edit]

Between 24 and 27 April 2020, a total of 77 people were murdered in El Salvador. Bukele's government claimed that the spike in murders was organized by gang members within El Salvador's prisons, leading to him instituting lockdowns across the country's prisons. Prisoners were confined in their cells 24 hours per day and rival gang members were mixed together in cells.[14] His government published photographs of inmates being rounded up on the prison floor in cramped conditions.[15] Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the government's actions as violation of human rights and that it took no considerations for the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

Crime spike[edit]

From 25 to 27 March 2022, 87 people were murdered in El Salvador,[16] including 62 people on Saturday alone,[9] the highest single-day tally in decades;[11] by contrast, 79 people were murdered throughout the entire month of February.[16] The victims were targeted randomly.[17] The government blamed the violence on Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).[18] William Eulises Soriano Herrera, a member of Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party, suggested the spike in violence was retaliation for the government's seizing control of two bus routes in the capital, which gangs often extort for revenue;[12] according to José Miguel Cruz, a research director at Florida International University, the gangs may have been sending a message to the government to try to obtain better terms.[9]

Government crackdown[edit]

A police patrol in Zaragoza during the crackdown.
An army patrol in Santa Tecla during the crackdown.

During an extraordinary session early on 27 March, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly approved a "state of exception".[19] The order, which was initially set to last thirty days but has been extended fourteen times,[20] suspended the rights of association and legal counsel, increased the amount of time that persons may be detained without being charged from three days to fifteen, and permitted the government to monitor citizens' communications without warrants.[19] However, Salvadoran law enforcement was accused of violating even the expanded limits of their powers.[12][18] The government also restricted the ability of judges to offer prisoners alternatives to pre-trial detention, like bail and house arrest.[21]

Members of Nuevas Ideas passed new rules that increase prison sentences for convicted gang lords to forty to forty-five years (previously six to nine) and twenty to thirty years for other members (previously three to five)[11] and reduce the age of criminal responsibility, previously sixteen years old,[21] to twelve.[20] They also passed a law that threatens anyone who reproduces or disseminates messages from gangs, including news media, with ten to fifteen years in prison.[22]

The government deployed additional police and military forces,[23] raiding houses and creating checkpoints surrounding neighborhoods with known gang presences.[9] Soldiers checked everyone for identification cards and proof of address,[18] searched their vehicles and backpacks,[12] and refused to let anyone enter or leave without what they considered a legitimate reason.[18] Anyone considered suspicious was forced to strip so soldiers could check for gang-related tattoos.[18]

By the end of 27 March, Salvadoran security forces claimed to have detained 576 people;[17] within a week, almost 6,000 people had been arrested, straining El Salvador's already-overcrowded prisons.[18] Nevertheless, the government pressured the police, military, and judicial system to continue the mass arrests by setting arrest quotas.[21] After one month, more than 17,000 people had been arrested;[22] on 25 May, the National Civil Police announced that more than 34,500 people had been arrested since the start of the state of emergency.[21] Many people were unable to learn where or why relatives were detained.[17] Rations for prisoners were reduced to two meals each day[16] consisting of only beans and tortillas;[9] Bukele explained that he would "not take budget away from schools to feed these terrorists".[19] Prisoners have also been denied mattresses and frog marched,[20] and Bukele ordered that all gang members be confined to their cells 24/7.[19]

In July 2022, Bukele announced the construction of a new prison which will be able to house 40,000 prisoners, making it one of the largest prisons in the world.[24] The prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center and located in Tecoluca, opened on 31 January 2023.[25]

On 3 November 2022, Osiris Luna Meza, the minister of justice, announced that the government would begin destroying gravestones belonging to members of gangs to prevent them from becoming "shrines", stating "terrorists will no longer be able to 'glorify' the memory of dead criminals". Despite the destruction of the gravestones, the government stated that the bodies would remain intact and not be disturbed.[26] Bukele compared the removal of the tombstones of gang members to denazification in Allied-occupied Germany and also compared the gangs to the Nazis themselves.[27]

The government initiated a siege of the city of Soyapango on 3 December 2022 when 10,000 soldiers were sent to surround the city and arrest gang members.[28] The government erased gang graffiti from the city during the siege.[29]

The state of exception has been extended for 30 days fourteen times by the Legislative Assembly. Nuevas Ideas (NI), the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), the National Coalition Party (PCN), and three independent politicians consistently vote for the extensions, while the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), Nuestro Tiempo (NT), and Vamos (V) consistently vote against it.

No. Date Votes Arrests Ref.
1. 24 April 2022 17,000+ [30]
2. 25 May 2022 34,500+ [31]
3. 21 June 2022 36,000+ [32]
4. 19 July 2022 46,000+ [33]
5. 17 August 2022 50,000+ [34]
6. 14 September 2022 52,000+ [35]
7. 15 October 2022 55,000+ [36]
8. 15 November 2022 57,500+ [37]
9. 14 December 2022 60,000+ [38]
10. 11 January 2023 61,000+ [39]
11. 14 February 2023 64,000+ [40]
12. 16 March 2023 66,000+ [41]
13. 13 April 2023 67,000+ [42]
14. 16 May 2023 68,000+ [43]

Reactions[edit]

Domestically, the crackdown was popular.[18] An April 2022 Gallup poll found that 91% of Salvadorans supported the government's actions, including 78% who "very much" supported them.[44] Many Salvadorans explained that they were weary of violence,[45] and many Salvadorans living in the United States supported the crackdown.[46] Salvadoran Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas voiced his open support for the crackdown in July 2022.[47]

In general, the people living in the streets of El Salvador consider the atmosphere in the neighborhood to be much more safer, with citizens and observers saying they feel much more free to do what would have been previously considered unthinkable, with Iano Grillo writing "I have interviewed dozens of gang members in visits over the years; you could often find them openly hanging out in the centre of neighbourhoods. But since the state of emergency, their presence has been greatly reduced: Maras are largely in prison, have fled, or are underground". Similarly the Mary Speck has observed that the criminal gangs have "largely disappeared" from San Salvador because of which vendors ,shop owners, drivers and pedestrians no longer have to pay gang members and that residents of a particular blocks dominated by a gang "no longer fear violent reprisals if they cross into another gang’s territory".[48][49][50] However, the incidents about innocent people getting caught up in the crackdown have remained a significant concern about the war against the gangs, with the families of some of those arrested in the crackdown saying that their family members were arrested with poor evidence, with an advocacy group for such people called "Victims of the Regime Movement" being founded.[51][48][49][50][52][53] Some officials have denied this, saying that a significant amount of evidence has been found against most of those who have been detained and many people who have been discovered to be falsely detained being released. Supporters of the crackdown have also described these measures as being necessary to regain the controlled of the gangs on the country with an official comparing it to "using chemotherapy to treat cancer".[48]

Sergio Brumez, a veteran of the security forces[who?] and a prominent supporter of the crackdown has also denied claims of arrests under unreasonable circumstances. Brumez stated that security forces "have a profile on all the gang members they have jailed" and "don’t just grab people and imprisoned them. They know everything about the gang member: where all the tattoos are on their body, the crimes they’ve committed, etc."[54]

The United States Institute of Peace observed that while the control asserted by the gangs in El Salvador had indeed been greatly diminished if not destroyed, the government would still need to formulate a plan for transition out of the state of exception and figure out what to do with those arrested. It also mentioned the need for the government to step in and use the newly regained control over the gangs to prevent more people from becoming gang members and replacing the present gang members who have been sent to jail.Veronica Reyna, a researcher from El Salvador was quoted as saying “The gangs exercised control because no one else would— If the state doesn’t fill this vacuum— not just with police but education and other services— other criminal groups will step in." The State of exception is expected to continue until the March 2024 general elections, after which the anti-crime measures addressing causes like education and underdevelopment are expected. An unnamed security expect was quoted saying “They know they can’t simply fill up the jails. After the elections, they can start looking at rehabilitation and community engagement".So far the government has promised to deal with these issues with initiatives such as Mi Nueva Escuela (My New School) which aims to improve the educational situation through curriculum reform, teacher training, arrangement of quality didactic, technological, health, and nutritional facilities, as well as the remodeling of more than 5,000 schools over the next five years and CUBOs (Urban Centers) which aims to provide impoverished youths with safe spaces being launched. 1000 schools are expected to be rebuilt till September 2023 under Mi Nueva Escuela, while 11 transparent, cube-shaped urban centers in poor communities, offering young people academic support, athletic activities, and art or language classes with access to computers, a library with cozy cushions for reading and adult supervision have already been built as of May 2023. While these initiatives have been appreciated, activists feel that more work is required as children in some areas still lack access to schools.[49][55]

Human rights advocates have criticized the arrests as often arbitrary, based on a person's appearance or residence, and expressed concern that innocent people are being caught in the sweeps.[20] Bukele claimed that only 1% of arrests would be incorrect,[56] and Salvadoran Defense Minister René Merino Monroy claimed that arrested persons found to have no links to gangs would be freed, saying that "the people need to know that if they're not involved in anything bad, nothing bad will happen to them." Human Rights Watch criticized the government's policy as "first arrest, then tweet, and investigate later", referencing Salvadoran police's tweets depicting people's arrests.[57] Human rights groups have also expressed concern that the arrests have little to do with gang violence, suggesting Bukele will use them to consolidate power and target critics.[17]

In a tweet on 10 April, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "condemn[ed]" the increase in gang violence in El Salvador and "urge[d]" the government to respect due process and civil liberties.[58] The same day, State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted affirming that the United States "continues to support El Salvador" against gangs while urging it to protect its citizens and their civil liberties.[59] The next day, Bukele responded that United States' support against Salvadoran gangs had come under the Trump administration, citing the withdrawal of American aid from the National Civil Police and Institute for Access to Public Information four months into the Biden administration, and saying that the United States now only supported the civil liberties of gangs.[56]

On 17 March 2023, Daniel Quintero, the mayor of Medellín, Colombia, announced that he would be opening a prison in similar style to the megaprisons run in El Salvador.[60] Mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, also applauded Bukele's actions, calling on the Ministry of Defense of Peru to allow the Peruvian Armed Forces to patrol the streets of Lima, including with tanks.[61]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Magaña, Yolanda (16 May 2023). "Hoy se Aprobaría 14ª Prórroga al Régimen y Oenegés Denuncian Muertes en Penales" [Todays the 14th Extension to the State of Exception is Approved and NGOs Denounce Deaths in Prisons]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Qué es un Régimen de Excepción – El Salvador" [What is the Regime of Exception – El Salvador]. Alianza Americas (in Spanish). 27 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Presidente Nayib Bukele Ordena Fortalecer Guerra Contra las Pandillas y Anuncia el Incremento de Presencia Policial en los Territorios" [President Nayib Bukele Orders to Strengthen the War Against Gangs and Announces Increased Police Presence in the Territories]. Government of El Salvador (in Spanish). 28 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Ministro de Seguridad confirma liberación de 5 mil detenidos durante el régimen de excepción". La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 16 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Renteria, Nelson (3 January 2023). "El Salvador Murders Plummet by Over Half in 2022 Amid Gang Crackdown". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. ^ Murray, Christine; Smith, Alan (6 March 2023). "Inside El Salvador's Mega Prison: The Jail Giving Inmates Less Space than Livestock". Financial Times. Mexico City and London. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  7. ^ Gagne, David (14 January 2016). "InSight Crime's 2015 Homicide Round-up". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Victims of Intentional Homicide, 1990–2018". United Nations. 2020. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Murray, Christine (5 April 2022). Written at Mexico City. "El Salvador's Gang Crackdown Prompts Fears of Growing Authoritarianism". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  10. ^ Nagovitch, Paola (13 February 2020). "Explainer: Nayib Bukele's Territorial Control Plan". Americas Society. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "UN Rights Office Raises Concerns About El Salvador Gang Crackdown". Al Jazeera. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Alemán, Marcos (29 March 2022). "El Salvador forces encircle neighborhoods in gang crackdown". Associated Press. San Salvador. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  13. ^ Abi-Habib, Maria; Avelar, Bryan (27 March 2022). "Explosion of Gang Violence Grips El Salvador, Setting Record". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  14. ^ a b "El Salvador: Inhumane Prison Lockdown Treatment". Human Rights Watch. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  15. ^ Sheridan, Mary Beth; Brigida, Anna-Catherine (27 April 2020). "Photos Show El Salvador's Crackdown on Imprisoned Gang Members". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020.
  16. ^ a b c "El Salvador locks down prisons after wave of 87 killings over weekend". The Guardian. Associated Press. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d Abi-Habib, Maria; Avelar, Bryan (28 March 2022). "Hundreds Arrested in El Salvador, Raising Fears of a Civil Liberties Crackdown". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Avelar, Bryan; Lakhani, Nina (5 April 2022). Written at San Salvador and Santa Tecla. "El Salvador reels as 6,000 people arrested in unprecedented crackdown". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d "El Salvador declares state of emergency after gang killings". Al Jazeera. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  20. ^ a b c d Written at San Salvador. "El Salvador extends anti-gang emergency for another month". Associated Press. New York City. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d Brigida, Anna-Cat (26 May 2022). "Pressure to make arrests as El Salvador extends gang crackdown". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  22. ^ a b "El Salvador extends state of emergency to curb gang violence". Al Jazeera. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  23. ^ Brigida, Anna-Cat (28 March 2022). "Surge in gang killings spurs fear, uncertainty in El Salvador". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  24. ^ Agren, David (23 August 2022). Written at Mexico City. "El Salvador Builds 40,000-Inmate Mega-Prison in "War Against Gangs"". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  25. ^ Renteria, Nelson; Kinosian, Sarah (1 February 2023). Maler, Sandra (ed.). "El Salvador Opens 40,000-Person Prison as Arrests Soar in Gang Crackdown". Reuters. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  26. ^ "El Salvador Destroys Gang Members' Gravestones". France 24. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  27. ^ Bukele, Nayib [@nayibbukele] (10 November 2022). "¿Por qué destruimos las lápidas en las tumbas de los pandilleros?" [Why do we destroy the headstones of the tombs of gang members?] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Murphy, Matt (4 December 2022). "El Salvador: Thousands of Troops Surround City in Gang Crackdown". BBC. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Eliminan grafitis en el municipio de Soyapango". 25 January 2023.
  30. ^ "El Salvador Extends State of Emergency to Curb Gang Violence". Al Jazeera. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  31. ^ Renteria, Nelson; O'Boyle, Brendan (25 May 2022). Pullin, Richard; Perrett, Bradley (eds.). "In El Salvador, Emergency Edict Extended as Dragnet Stirs Criticism". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Asamblea Aprueba Régimen de Excepción por 30 Días Más" [The Assembly Approves Extending the State of Exception for 30 More Days]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 21 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  33. ^ Rodríguez, Milton; Alas, Liseth (19 July 2022). "Asamblea Aprueba Cuarta Prórroga del Régimen de Excepción" [The Assembly Approves the Fourth Extension of the State of Exception]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  34. ^ "El Salvador Extends State of Exception as Arrests Hit 50,000". Al Jazeera. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  35. ^ Alemán, Marcos (14 September 2022). "El Salvador Aprueba Nueva Prórroga de Régimen de Excepción" [El Salvador Approves New Extension of the State of Exception]. The San Diego Union-Tribune (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  36. ^ "El Salvador: 55,000 Suspected Gang Members Arrested Since March". Al Jazeera. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  37. ^ Villarroel, Gabriela (15 November 2022). "Aprueban Octava Prórroga al Régimen de Excepción: Estará Vigente Hasta el 18 de Diciembre" [They Approve the Eighth Extension of the State of Exception: It will be in Effect until 18 December]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  38. ^ Velásquez, Eugenia (15 December 2022). "Asamblea Aprueba Novena Ampliación del Régimen de Excepción en El Salvador" [Assembly Approves Ninth Extension of the State of Exception]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  39. ^ "El Salvador Renews State of Emergency as Gang Crackdown Continues". Al Jazeera. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  40. ^ Magaña, Yolanda (14 February 2023). "Aprobado: Nueva Prórroga al Régimen de Excepción Finalizará el 17 de Marzo" [Approved: new Extension of the State of Exception to Continue Until 17 March]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  41. ^ "El Salvador Extends Emergency Powers in Year-Long Gang Crackdown". Al Jazeera. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  42. ^ Pérez, Ernesto (16 March 2023). "Diputados Aprueban Decimotercera Prórroga de 30 Días al Régimen de Excepción" [Deputies Approve Thirteenth 30-Day Extension to the State of Exception]. El Salvador Times (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  43. ^ Peñate, Susana (16 May 2023). "Asamblea Legislativa Aprueba Décimo Cuarta Prórroga a Régimen de Excepción" [Legislative Assembly Approves Fourteenth Extension to the State of Exception]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  44. ^ Población de acuerdo con medidas tomadas por el gobierno contra pandilleros (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). CID Gallup. April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  45. ^ "El Salvador extends state of emergency amid gang crackdown". Al Jazeera. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  46. ^ Sesin, Carmen; Flores, Edwin (29 July 2022). "Many Salvadorans in U.S. Support Country's President Amid Massive Crackdown, Abuse Allegations". NBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  47. ^ "Salvadoran Archbishop Praises Government Crackdown on Gangs". Associated Press. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  48. ^ a b c "Inside El Salvador's brutal gang crackdown". Unherd.
  49. ^ a b c "As El Salvador's Gang Crackdown Continues, Citizens Wonder What's Next?". United States Institute of Peace.
  50. ^ a b "El Salvador Decimated It's ruthless gangs. But at what cost?". New York Times.
  51. ^ "MOVIRSV". twitter. com. 31 July 2022.
  52. ^ Blitzer, Jonathan (5 September 2022). "The Rise of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's Authoritarian President". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  53. ^ "Irreconocible: liberan a lanchero tras un año detenido por el régimen de excepción". Noticias de El Salvador - Noticias de El Salvador, noticias internacionales, salvadoreños por el mundo, economia, negocios, politica, deportes, entretenimiento, tecnologia, turismo, tendencias, fotos, videos, redes sociales. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  54. ^ Sergio Bermudez. "They have a profile on all the gang members they have jailed. They don't just grab people and imprisoned them. I've confirmed it police officers and the military. They know everything about the gang member. Where all the tattoos are in their body, crimes they've committed, etc". twitter.com.
  55. ^ Prensa, Secretaría de (8 September 2022). "Presidente Nayib Bukele lanza reforma educativa "Mi Nueva Escuela", para transformar la educación desde la formación docente hasta la infraestructura escolar". Presidencia de la República de El Salvador (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  56. ^ a b "Bukele tiene un mensaje para Biden: 'Sí recibimos apoyo de EU para combatir pandillas... pero con Trump'". El Financerio (in Spanish). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  57. ^ "El Salvador anti-gang measures 'a success' as 17,000 held". BBC. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  58. ^ Blinken, Antony [@SecBlinken] (10 April 2022). "We condemn the increased gang violence and homicides in El Salvador. We also urge the Government of El Salvador to uphold due process and protect civil liberties, including freedoms of press, peaceful assembly, and expression." (Tweet). Retrieved 28 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  59. ^ Price, Ned [@StateDeptSpox] (10 April 2022). "The U.S. government continues to support El Salvador in its efforts to reduce the proliferation of gangs. We urge El Salvador to protect its citizens while also upholding civil liberties, including freedom of the press." (Tweet). Retrieved 28 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  60. ^ Semana (17 March 2023). "Al estilo de Nayib Bukele, alcalde Daniel Quintero anuncia nueva cárcel en Medellín". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  61. ^ "Rafael López Aliaga busca implementar plan Bukele y pide que Fuerzas Armadas integren patrullaje". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 April 2023.

Further reading[edit]

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