Bukele reports low murder figures in El Salvador, but this comes amid complaints of human rights violations

(CNN Spanish) — Today El Salvador shows a different image to the world. The country, which once had the highest crime rate in Central America, now wears like a medal a low murder rate, the lowest in its history, he says. Its heavy-handed president, Nayib Bukele, boasts immense popularity, being one of the region’s greatest leaders, but behind this, international analysts and observers condemn systematic violations of human rights.

When Bukele addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, he told the world that his country, for the first time in more than 200 years of history, was beginning to take its first steps toward its “dream of greatness.” “It went from the most dangerous country in the world to the safest country in Latin America in a very short period of time,” he said.

According to official figures published in January 2024, El Salvador had the lowest number of murders in 2023’s history – the government says – when 154 murders were recorded, a rate of 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. Last year, in 2022, 495 murders were recorded, or 7.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Official figures show a sharp decline in the murder rate, from 106.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 2.4 last year. According to United Nations statistics on drugs and crime, there were 134.78 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in El Salvador in 1994.

Data on killings cannot be independently verified with other institutions because the El Salvador government has declared them confidential, arguing that disclosing more details would threaten national security.

feeling of insecurity

Crime was the main problem for Salvadorans in late 2019. A survey by the University Institute of Public Opinion showed that in December 2019, 70.4% of those surveyed said crime was a major problem for Salvadorans. This figure fell to 4.3% in December 2023. The government credits this reduction to its security plan and the emergency arrangements established in 2022.

This is not strange in a country tired of mass violence: “The majority of Salvadorans have applauded the severe measures,” the 2022 International Crisis Group report said.

“The population has a very good perception of security, right? But it is not consistent with compliance with the norms established in the Constitution that guarantee the rights of the Salvadoran population,” said Zaira Navas, head of the State of Law and Justice. Told CNN. Security for Cristosal, a Central American think tank that has condemned human rights violations during the state of emergency in El Salvador.

A year after Bukele assumed the presidency, government critics and several international organizations have expressed concerns about his heavy-handed security model, which sacrifices fundamental rights in the pursuit of public security.

“One violence is replaced by another”

There has been a turning point in the recent history of El Salvador. March 27, 2022 was recorded as the most violent day of the Bukele government. At least 62 people were murdered that day and since then, the National Assembly, with a pro-government majority, approved an emergency rule decree that allows authorities to suspend rights such as freedom of assembly, defense and intervention. Gives the right to do. Communication without authorization by a judge.

“It becomes necessary to suspend certain rights in order to restore order,” a decree read during an extraordinary plenary session said.

Amnesty International condemned the deterioration of human rights in that country as “alarming” in a December 2023 report.

“Adopting an overly repressive security approach and weakening the rule of law has plunged the country into one of the worst crises since the end of the internal armed conflict,” he previously told Anna Picker, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“One violence is being replaced by another,” Picker told CNN. He alleged that in a country where earlier violence and terror was carried out by gangs, it has now gone into the hands of the state.

“(With) a punitive policy of the state that pervades everything, that is becoming permanent and not exceptional and that is creating vulnerability for the same people who were previously victims of mass violence,” Picker said.

Human Rights Watch also condemned it in a 99-page report that it published jointly with Cristocel in December 2022. The organization documented that since the state of emergency began in March that year, “arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment in custody, as well as the circumstances of deaths in custody, have continued.”

Navas said, “Bukele gives the population what they clearly want: security, but at the cost of prosecuting, detaining and violating the rights of thousands of people who are probably innocent.”

Since the beginning of the emergency, at least 75,000 people have been detained, according to official figures for January 2024. In mid-2022, approximately 100,000 people, up to 2% of Salvador’s population over the age of 18, were in detention. Prison according to Amnesty International’s assessment based on local media reports.

According to HRW, arbitrary arrests of more than 150 people a day have caused concern among human rights activists, who say the justification for some arrests is inadequate.

“Cases include people who were arbitrarily detained because of their physical appearance, because they had a tattoo, because they were a specific person at a specific time,” Tamara, acting Americas director at Human Rights Watch, previously told CNN. Were in the neighborhood.”

“There is no clarity or evidence that these individuals were actually committing any crimes or were involved in this large-scale raid. This is a major problem for public safety.”

Zaira Navas, on behalf of Cristocel, assured that this state of exception has not only allowed the capture of alleged criminals, but is also a way to exercise social control and avoid any rebellion.

“At the same time, he also avoids social organization. Behind this plan or this war against the gangs that Bukele puts forward, there is an interest in creating social control and avoiding any protest, any rebellion,” Navas said.

CNN contacted the Presidency and Civil Police of El Salvador for comment on these allegations, but did not receive a response.

Gabriela Santos, director of the Human Rights Institute at José Simeone Cañas Central American University, said that there was a “continuous and systematic pattern” of human rights violations in El Salvador, which included, among other things, “short-term forced disappearances”. ,

“There’s a time when the family doesn’t know where their relative is, where they are detained, if they are detained, and worst of all,” Santos said in an interview with CNN last August. The point is whether they’re still alive or not.”

“There are cases in which it is believed that the person has been detained; however, he dies in prison and it is not reported officially, but unfortunately in funeral homes or in some other way, which Truly a disgrace. And a great pain.” Families, especially when it comes to innocent people,” he said.

Bukele has defended his security policy as he claims it has reduced the level of violence. He has also criticized opponents of his methods by maintaining that they protect the rights of criminals and not the honest population.

Gangs and Mega Security Prison

The construction in March 2023 of a mega-security prison with a capacity of 40,000 people, known as the Terrorism Detention Centre, caught the attention of many in the region as an example to follow, and boosted Bukele’s image of a tough stance in the fight. Left as adopted leader. Against crime and to restore glory in the armed forces of the country.

The presentation of this mega prison center came just days after the United States government revealed serious allegations that the Bukele government had made secret deals with the MS-13 gang to stoke violence in the country.

According to U.S. prosecutors, some members of the Salvadoran government disguised themselves in order to secretly enter the country’s prisons and conduct secret negotiations with gang leaders. They also allege – without giving specific names – that members of the government provided a shorter prison sentence and more comfortable prison conditions for the gang, along with freeing a member of MS-13 wanted in extradition by the US. Who is the most bloodthirsty. Criminal gangs in the world. All this in return for helping the government fulfill its election promise of reducing murders in the country.

“This led to political gains for the El Salvador government by creating the perception that it was reducing the murder rate,” the U.S. indictment alleges.

So far, neither the presidency nor the police have responded to requests sent by CNN to comment on these allegations.

Bukele’s continuation

Despite allegations of violence against his government, Nayib Bukele – who had taken six months off to campaign for re-election – arrived for the February 4 elections with high favorability.

The right-wing populist leader came to power in 2019 on an anti-corruption platform and promised to “drain the swamp” of Salvadoran politics. He is the first president since 1989 who does not come from either of the country’s two main political parties, the conservative Arena party and the former leftist guerrilla movement FMLN. Although Bukele won the San Salvador mayor’s office with the support of the FMLN, his candidacy for the presidency was won with the center-right Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA).

He is known for his heavy-handed style and dramatic displays of power, such as when he entered Parliament accompanied by armed soldiers. He once described himself on his X account as “the world’s quietest dictator” and more recently as the “philosopher king.”

If he is re-elected in the next elections, he will be the first person in El Salvador’s recent history to repeat this position, despite the fact that some academic and legal circles believe that the Constitution prohibits immediate re-election. .

In any case, he is a leader who has come under fire from many right-wing leaders in the region – some, like the president of Ecuador, have earned some kind of comparison – for adopting a heavy-handed model that earned them Have high popularity in your country.

While he assures that his government is going to “eliminate” the gangs and the remnants will no longer be able to operate, the possible continuation of his administration for the next five years – according to experts consulted – tests democracy and the security of a nation. , which balances the eternal conflict between security and freedom.

— With reporting from CNN’s Marilyn Delcid, Fernando del Rincon, Tara John and Stefano Pozzibon.