They are asking for an extension of El Salvador’s system of exception

SAN SALVADOR: President Nayib Bukele’s security cabinet today asked the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador for the twelfth extension of the emergency regime to counter gangs.

This was stated by the Presidency Council when summoning the media to attend Parliament at noon to publicize the government’s work aimed at putting an end to gang activity.

This measure has been in effect since March 27, 2021, when the country recorded a weekend tally of about 87 deaths due to gang violence.

From that date until now, the country has reduced its murder rate to less than two per 100,000 people to become one of the safest countries in the Americas, according to the official publicity.

Just 12 days after completing one year with the current emergency system, the Ministry of Security has announced via the Twitter platform that it will submit a new extension application to Parliament.

According to the latest report by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Gustavo Vilatoro, with the measure that includes the territorial control plan, more than 65,000 gang members have already been arrested, and important logistics and funds have been seized, estimated at 1. More than 7 million dollars.

After nearly 12 months of being approved, the regulation allows for an extension of a person’s detention, the interception of telecommunications without a court order, and the suspension of certain defense rights, actions considered a violation of the constitution and human rights.

The destination of most of the detainees will be the maximum security prison that has been built in Ticoluca, San Vicente, with a capacity of about 40,000 inmates, although international organizations estimate that this amount violates international regulations regarding the minimum space that must be available in the prison. prisoner.

The British newspaper “Financial Times” indicated that here they will have only 60 square centimeters to live, less than the space required for a prison on humanitarian grounds. (PL)