El Salvador Extends State of Emergency Imposed for Gang Crackdown For Another 30 Days

The state of emergency imposed on El Salvador over the gang crackdown in the country will continue to be effective after the country's congress voted to grant President Nayib Bukele another 30-day extension of the measure.

According to Associated Press, the country's legislative assembly voted overwhelmingly on late Tuesday to extend the state of exception that would grant the state of emergency in the country amid the government's efforts to crack down the gangs.

BBC reported that the legislative assembler, which is controlled by Bukele's party, passed 67 votes in favor of the extension, while 15 were against the move.

The state of emergency was scheduled to be expired on Saturday, but that was changed when Congress had their vote. The state of emergency in the country has been extended four times since it was implemented.

The said measure is now effective until late August.

El Salvador's State of Emergency

The state of emergency in El Salvador was originally imposed in March to fight against the rampant gang violence. The said measure restricts the public from holding gatherings and authorizes law enforcement to arrest without having a warrant. It also authorizes officials to intercept calls and hold suspects in preliminary detention for longer periods.

The state of emergency also heightened the prison sentence for those who are gang members in the country.

The state of emergency in El Salvador was declared following the death of 62 people in just a day. The said incident was blamed by the government on the gangs.

Authorities believe that the killings during that time were driven by gangs from Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and Barrio 18.

The 62 killed were marked as the most violent 24-hour period in El Salvador since 1992.

Human Rights Group Accuse 'Arbitrary Detentions' to El Salvador Over State of Emergency

BBC mentioned that several rights group has claimed that the state of emergency imposed by El Salvador has led to "arbitrary detentions." They also claim that arrests are often even with little evidence. They also argued that when detainees see a judge, they are automatically jailed for six months pending trial.

However, Ecuador's Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro contended that the arrest led to a safer country, and days without homicides have passed because of it.

"We have destroyed the transnational, criminal and terrorist structure, the drug business that the terrorists led, and we are going to completely eradicate them," Villatoro underscored.

Villatoro also emphasized that they are going to continue with their move, contending that their actions led to the destruction of "transnational, criminal, and terrorist structure."

According to reports, the country's law enforcement has arrested 46,000 people from El Salvador who are suspected of belonging to gangs.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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