Within the first two months of the state of emergency in El Salvador imposed by President Nayib Bukele back in 2022, two of Gladis Álvarez’s sons were arrested and accused of being gang associates. Since then, the 53-year-old woman’s life has fallen apart. “There were eight of us in my family. Now, I’m the only one left,” Álvarez laments. “Since my sons were arrested, our lives have been destroyed in a terrible way,” she adds.
This kind of sob stories about gang memebers are so counterproductive. Are we supposed to feel sorry that someone who at least willingly associated with extreme violence (if not committed it themselves) is locked up?
That being said El Salvador needs a reconciliation plan. These people will not stay locked up forever, and it’s important to return them to society without falling in the old ways. Which is made more difficult by all the violence they were exposed to inside prison.
I’ve long held that El Salvadorean prisoners are best understood as PoWs in a civil war, rather than regular criminals. That why “reconciliation” is a much better approach than a legalistic one. Doesn’t seem like anyone cares though.
The word “associated” in this context can be as little as “looking like a gang member”. People are arbitrarily arrested and locked up, often without real evidence or due process.
I of course feel sorry for the many thousands of innocent people who are imprisoned in horrible conditions as well as their friends and family who have no idea exactly where they are.
The Bukele regime is barbaric and extremely antidemocratic. And Bukele actually has very much associated himself with Trump and his corrupt circle. These people can’t be trusted and don’t work for the people, they just want money, power, and influence.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/07/el-salvador-el-costo-humano-del-regimen-de-excepcion-podria-constituir-crimenes-de-lesa-humanidad/
You are running from the assumption that anyone who is locked up in these prisons is also actually guilty of having been involved in gang violence. However there is a lot of indication that a significant portion of innocent people have been swept up in the prisons as well, without access to a proper legal defence.
And, in my opinion, the Salvadorian prison system is so horrifically barbaric that accidentally innocently locking people up is akin to violating their basic human rights.