On Wednesday, the government of El Salvador transferred 2,000 additional suspects to a newly constructed, vast prison designed specifically for gang members, with the justice minister affirming that “they will never return” to the streets.

This firm statement was made as President Nayib Bukele’s administration requested yet another extension of anti-gang emergency measures, extending the crackdown into its 13th month, the Associated Press reported.

During the past 354 days, roughly 65,000 individuals have been detained in the anti-gang operation. Nevertheless, human rights organizations have raised concerns about prisoner mistreatment and the arbitrary detention of innocent individuals during police raids.

The government publicized the extensive prisoner transfer through a well-produced video shared on social media. The footage depicted handcuffed inmates running barefoot over unpaved terrain and stairways, wearing solely white shorts as per prison regulations.

Following this, they were made to sit in cells with their legs tightly grouped together, as reported by the AP.

Written by staff