El Salvador crackdown could prompt gangs to ‘adapt and reshuffle’
San Salvador, El Salvador – Residents of Soyapango, a densely populated municipality on the outskirts of San Salvador, woke up on December 3 surrounded by 10,000 police and military forces. El Salvador’s state of exception, in place since March, has suspended key civil liberties and led to the mass incarceration of nearly 60,000 Salvadorans. Bukele has brushed off such criticisms, tweeting on Thursday of the NGOs documenting such abuses: “Their fear is that we are successful, and that other governments will want to imitate us.” Many Salvadorans say they have seen benefits from the state of exception, with 75 percent backing the measure, according to a recent survey by the University Institute of Public Opinion at San Salvador’s Central American University. “If you see a young man standing there, you don’t have to worry that he’s going to rob everything that you have.” His comments reflect the government’s assertion that extortion has dropped by 80 percent since the state of exception was imposed, while Bukele often touts days with zero homicides. “This means that the gangs still have many weapons hidden.” Cruz also questioned the state of exception’s efficacy in tackling gang structures, particularly through the exclusive use of force without measures to address the social factors that fuel gangs.
Children victimized in El Salvador’s anti-gang crackdown, rights group alleges
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