El Salvador’s Bukele unveils plan to free up to 50% arrested under state of emergency

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced a plan on Tuesday to release up to 50% of the people imprisoned under a state of emergency. Since March 2022, authorities have arrested over 90,000 people in a campaign to eliminate violent criminal gangs, particularly MS-13 and Barrio 18. The emergency, initiated due to a surge in violence, has significantly lowered the country's homicide rate, but has also suspended fundamental rights such as the right to be informed of detention reasons, access to legal counsel, and visitation rights.

Human rights groups have condemned the state of emergency, alleging widespread arbitrary arrests, and have called on Bukele to end it. Bukele, however, maintains the measure is necessary to combat the gangs and has defended the need to maintain the state of emergency, albeit with the intention to eventually end it.