Human rights violations will “ continue “, or even get worse, in El Salvador with the new mandate of President Nayib Bukele if the state of emergency is maintained to fight gangs, Amnesty International warned this Wednesday March 27, the day marking the two years of this regime. On March 27, 2022, Nayib Bukele declared a merciless “war” on the gangs controlling a large part of the country.
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According to new official figures released on March 26, more than 78,000 suspected gang members have been arrested in two years and 3,939 firearms and 8,000 vehicles seized in the El Salvador. “ This war against these terrorists will continue », Assured on public television the Minister of Justice and Security, Gustavo Villatoro.
In a press release, Amnesty International mentions “ the possibility, during President Bukele’s second term, of a deepening of the human rights crisis observed over the past two years “. “ If the course is not corrected, the exploitation of the penal process and the establishment of a policy of torture in the penitentiary system could continue. », Adds the organization in a press release. “ It is impossible to reduce gang violence by replacing it with state violence. »
According to Amnesty, local NGOs count “ 327 cases of forced disappearances ” And “ prison over-occupancy of around 148% “, with ” at least 235 deaths in custody “.
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Nayib Bukele rejects criticism outright
Nayib Bukele, re-elected in February with 85% of the votes for a new five-year term, claims to have made El Salvador “ the safest country in the world “. He rejects the criticism and assured the UN in September that there was no foreign recipe for fighting organized crime and that “ no country has the right to impose its ideas “. He ” demonstrated its inability to put in place large-scale measures to address the underlying causes of violence and crime », Estimates Ana Piquer, director of Amnesty for the Americas.
Amnesty calls on the Salvadoran authorities to promote a policy that favors “ respect for human rights and the search for large-scale solutions » and the international community to “ condemn any model of public security based on the violation of human rights “.
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