The Salvadoran parliament, at the demand of President Naguib Boukele, approved yesterday Sunday the imposition of a state of emergency for a month in the small Central American country to combat gang violence, accused of committing 62 homicides in 24 hours.
A decree approved by a large majority in parliament states that "a state of emergency is declared throughout the national territory due to the very serious disturbance of public order by gangs of thugs".
The decree restricts freedom of assembly, the inviolability of correspondence and communications, the right of access to a lawyer for people in custody, and authorises arrests without a warrant.
Ο κ. Bukele also declared a "state of maximum alert" in all prisons.
"All cells will remain locked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no one will be able to leave," the president declared via Twitter. "This is a message to the gangs: because of your actions, your 'lads' will not see a single ray of sunshine."
The state of emergency "will allow our government to protect the lives of Salvadorans and tackle crime," assured Parliament President Ernesto Castro via Twitter.
President Boukele noted that for "the vast majority of people, life will go on as before () unless someone is part of a gang or is considered a suspect by the authorities."
According to the official casualty count released by the authorities, 12 murders have been recorded in the central province of La Libertad as of Friday, while the capital San Salvador and the western province of Ahuachapan each had nine. The remaining murders were recorded in the other 11 provinces.
The police and the army began an operation against the Mara Salvatrucha, one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, the day before yesterday, Saturday.
Its leaders were arrested and charged with being responsible "for the homicides committed in recent hours," according to police.
Reacting to the wave of violence, the Salvadoran president demanded the day before yesterday, Saturday, that parliament - dominated by his New Ideas party - immediately declare a state of emergency.
"Resurgence of homicides"
Under El Salvador's Constitution, a state of emergency is declared "in the event of war, invasion of the territory, rebellion, insurrection, stagnation, disaster, epidemic or other calamity on a large scale, or serious disturbance of public order".
"Since yesterday we have seen a new upsurge in homicides, something we have been working very hard to prevent. As we continue to fight against the thugs on the streets, we are trying to decipher what is happening and who is behind and financing all this," he said in a press statement released by Naguib Bukele, who convened a meeting of officials in charge of security to address the crisis.
The head of state demanded that the prosecution treat all cases of gang members with the same "efficiency", warning that it would closely monitor "judges who favour criminals".
"We will not back down in this war against gangs, we will not rest until the criminals responsible for these acts are arrested and brought to justice," Salvadoran police said via Twitter.
Mara Salvatroucha, Barrio 18 and other gangs that mainly engage in drug trafficking and extortion have some 70,000 members in Salvador, more than 17,000 of whom are in prison, according to authorities.
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) is monitoring "with concern the very serious increase in homicides" in Salvador, said Juan Papier, a researcher specializing in the Americas.
"It is urgent for the government to protect the population with lasting measures that respect human rights. Security policy must always be written within the framework of the rule of law," he added.
El Salvador's 40-year-old president, in power since 2019, enjoys high popularity, mainly thanks to his promises to crack down on organized crime.
But his penchant for authoritarianism is drawing fierce criticism from his political opponents, NGOs and the international community.
El Salvador recorded 1,140 homicides in 2021 - 18 per 100,000 inhabitants - or in other words the lowest number since the end of the civil war in 1992.
Source: Proto Thema
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