Reuters parla dell’estensione dello stato di emergenza voluto dal presidente salvadoregno Bukele per combattere il fenomeno delle gang in El Salvador.

Since President Nayib Bukele asked the country’s congress to approve a state of exception in March last year, security forces have arrested more than 64,000 suspected gang members and associates. Authorities estimate they have around 10,000 more arrests to make and the measure has been regularly extended.

The crackdown on El Salvador’s notorious gangs has more than halved murders in one of the most crime-ridden countries in the Western hemisphere, drawing the interest of other nations struggling with gang violence and raising questions about what rights citizens are willing to exchange for living on safer streets.

La carcerazione di massa, la sospensione di alcuni diritti costituzionali garantiti agli arrestati, la situazione delle carceri e i gravi abusi compiuti dalle forze dell’ordine sarebbero stati ripetutamente denunciati dalle organizzazioni per i diritti umani: i provvedimenti, tuttavia, sembrerebbero largamente appoggiati da parte della popolazione generale.

But the vast majority of people in El Salvador say they approve of the hard-line approach and feel safer. A survey this month by pollsters CID Gallup found that 92% of the population supports the state of exception.

In 2022 homicides fell 57% to 495, from 1,147 in 2021, according to government figures. Extortion, one of the gangs’ primary sources of income, has plummeted, many residents say. By August of last year, the transportation minister estimated bus companies had already saved around $50 million from not paying.