Relatives of people detained under El Salvador's state of emergency have described arbitrary arrests, missing loved ones and deaths in custody, in a Guardian investigation into President Nayib Bukele's war on gangs.
Bukele declared the emergency in March 2022 after gangs reportedly killed 87 people in three days. An estimated 90,000 people have since been arrested, and about 120,000 remain in prison, roughly 2% of the population. Rights groups say tens of thousands had no proven gang links, and many have been tried in closed hearings for the loosely defined offence of unlawful association.
The human rights group Cristosal has counted at least 513 deaths in state custody during the emergency. One mother told the paper her son was moved to the Cecot maximum-security prison despite a judge ordering his release, and she has not seen him since.
Source: The Guardian
