The recent crackdown on gang violence in El Salvador has drawn new scrutiny as police officers disclose that many arrests were made under pressure to meet imposed quotas. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, as well as firsthand accounts from multiple officers, this mass arrest strategy is rooted in a culture of fear and misinformation that has enveloped law enforcement under President Nayib Bukele’s administration.
Following a state of emergency declared in 2022, police were incentivized to detain individuals, resulting in the imprisonment of nearly 80,000 people. Families of those arrested have long contended that many of these detentions were based on unreliable sources, such as neighborhood gossip or harmless tattoos. Now, some officers back these claims, stating they felt compelled to make arrests without substantial evidence for fear of being labeled as gang collaborators themselves if they failed to act decisively.
President Bukele’s stringent policies, which led to a dramatic decrease in violence, had been showcased as a major success, drawing the attention of global leaders including former President Trump, who noted the improvements in safety. However, as police officials bring to light the troubling realities of arbitrary detentions, the legitimacy of this strategy is increasingly being challenged. The balance between maintaining law and order and upholding human rights remains a critical dialogue in the ongoing narrative of El Salvador's efforts to combat gang-related violence.
