El Salvador Extends the ‘State of Exception’ for the Ninth Time
El Salvador’s Congress authorised a new “state of exception,” lasting 30 days and suspending a number of constitutional rights, on Wednesday.
For the first time, in March, President Nayib Bukele asked for the declaration of a state of emergency to address a string of homicides that were blamed on gangs and resulted in the deaths of 80 individuals.
The decree, which was passed by 67 pro-government parliamentarians, states that “criminal organisations and their members maintain their danger, which has been shown by attacks and aggressions carried out during the emergency regime.”
Despite the fact that the gang-related homicides were under control a few days after the exception regime was put in place, they continued, “The circumstances that triggered the suspension of rights and assurances nonetheless prevail.”
Raquel Caballero, the Ombudsman for the Defense of Human Rights, reported on Tuesday that she had met with Gustavo Villatoro, the Security Minister, who recognised that 59,600 persons had been imprisoned since the state of exception was put into effect.
Only 2.100 people—roughly 3.5 percent of those detained—have been released thus far. However, their release was irregular because the authorities have not stated if it was at the prosecutor’s office’s request, whether the courts granted them probation, or whether they were cleared of all charges.
On September 27, three humanitarian organisations accused El Salvador of arbitrarily imprisoning at least 152 people during the emergency regime before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
