Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced a plan to release up to 50% of those imprisoned under a state of emergency. The measure targets individuals classified as gang collaborators.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has announced a plan to release up to 50% of the people imprisoned under a state of emergency. Authorities have arrested more than 90,000 people since March 2022 in a campaign to wipe out violent criminal gangs.
The plan, announced Tuesday night, focuses on releasing individuals considered gang collaborators. According to the president, this is a blanket term that can include anyone from gang lookouts to people who make extortion payments.
Bukele stated that while many detainees have committed crimes, the nature of their involvement varied. "There are many people who have indeed committed crimes, but their crime was collaborating with gangs," Bukele said. "They deserve to be in jail, but we come from a country where collaborating with gangs wasn’t so unusual, and if we were to arrest everyone who collaborated with gangs, we would have to arrest 20% of the population."
The president indicated that authorities plan to analyze cases to determine potential early release with monitoring. This process could benefit half of those detained during the state of emergency.
The state of emergency was declared after a spike in violence. It has drastically reduced the country's homicide rate but has also suspended fundamental rights. These suspended rights include the right to be informed of the reasons for detention, the right to access legal counsel, and the right to visitation.
Human rights groups have condemned the emergency, stating it has led to widespread arbitrary arrests. They have repeatedly called on Bukele to end the measure. Bukele has justified the measure as necessary to reign in warring gangs MS-13 and Barrio 18.
Human rights organizations have registered more than 6,000 complaints during the emergency. They have also documented the deaths of at least 575 people in government custody.
Exiled Salvadoran lawyer Bertha Deleón wrote on X that the potential release of thousands of prisoners does not go far enough to repair the damage of prolonged imprisonment. "The victims of arbitrary detentions don’t just deserve to recover their freedom, but they also deserve to be compensated for the harms caused by the State of El Salvador: the physical and mental harm that imprisonment causes, family suffering, loss of work or studies, reputational damage, among others," Deleón wrote.
Bukele dismissed criticism from national and international rights groups, saying that they should take the side of the victims of gang violence. He defended the need to maintain the state of emergency but expressed his intention to end it eventually.
According to government figures, homicides have drastically decreased under Bukele. The rate dropped from a peak of more than 100 murders per 100,000 residents in 2015 to 1.3 per 100,000 in 2025. However, the government has narrowed the definition for homicides to exclude killings by police, murders in prisons, and bodies found in unmarked graves.
The announcement marks a shift in El Salvador's approach to its mass detention strategy. While the government cites a significant reduction in homicides, human rights organizations continue to highlight the suspension of legal rights and the high number of complaints regarding arbitrary arrests. The plan to release up to half of the detainees introduces a new phase in the country's anti-gang campaign, balancing security measures with legal and humanitarian considerations.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
The day's checked news, by email
One short email a day with the top stories. Free, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
Or follow for the latest news:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp in southern Yemen with ballistic missiles, killing at least 53 recruits and wounding 200 others, according to local authorities.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a Yemeni government military camp in Shabwa province with ballistic missiles, killing at least 53 soldiers and wounding 200 recruits.