El Salvador is a constitutional democratic republic. At least, it was supposed to be.
Despite having been founded as a modern liberal democracy in the first half of the 19th-century, El Salvador spent the remainder of the 19th-century being ruled by a despotic and exploitative oligarchy that determined the course of the nation. The 20th-century unfortunately proved no different as a succession of right-wing military governments spent five decades committing mass human rights violations and crushing democratic processes– culminating with a 12-year Civil War.
The Peace Accords, signed in 1992, while they were an imperfect end to the popular struggle for a more egalitarian society, they nonetheless offered El Salvador the possibility of finally having a functional democracy. The accords reaffirmed the tremendous importance of constitutional law as an indispensable component of a democracy.
Besides the right to free speech, the right to assemble, and freedom of the press, one of the most important elements in a healthy democracy is something called DUE PROCESS.
Due process is a set of constitutional guarantees that protects the rights of an individual against the power of the state. For example:
“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, nor of any other rights without a hearing and a fair trial. No person can be charged twice for the same cause.” (Article 11, Item 1)
“All persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent unless their guilt is otherwise proven in accordance with the law, in a public trial, while assuring all necessary guarantees for their defense.” (Article 12, Item 1)1
Simply put, when laws are observed, respected, and followed by the police, law enforcement authorities, and the judicial system and the rights of even the worst criminal in a society are protected, then it also guarantees the protection of rights for EVERYONE, especially the innocent.
Every person, no matter who they are, what their walk of life is, or what they have done is ENTITLED to have their rights respected and protected.
The application of due process is universal, not discretionary. Due process must be applied neutrally and can never be influenced by morality, prejudice, or opinion, whether of a religious, political, or personal nature.
Lastly, when those in power respect the rule of law and due process, it promotes a popular culture that values and defends the principles of democracy, equality, and fairness. It encourages greater civic engagement and leads to a better society at large.
Despite their intended role to maintain public order and serve the public good, the police and all branches of security forces have an inherent tendency to abuse their power. Over 50 years of military rule in El Salvador has proven this.
Due process establishes rules and limitations for the police as they carry out their work and safeguards against any abuse of power.
“In the performance of their work, members of the Civil National Police (PNCSV) shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and defend the human rights of all persons.” (Article 25, Section 2)
“No member of the PNCSV shall inflict, instigate, or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or penalty;” (Article 25, Section 4), and all “members of the PNCSV shall ensure the whole protection of the integrity and health of any person in custody,” (Article 25, Section 5).2
A breakdown in negotiations between the Bukele regime and criminal organizations resulted in a sudden spike in homicides in late March 2022. The Bukele-controlled National Assembly capitalized on the situation and declared a state of emergency called State of Exception (Régimen de Excepción).
“In the event of war, invasion by a foreign entity, rebellion, sedition, catastrophe, epidemic, or other general calamity or grave disturbance to public order,” (Article 29, Item 1) the State can suspend certain basic freedoms such as speech and assembly, however, as it pertains to due process, the State of Exception suspends the following constitutional guarantees:
“A detained person must be informed in an immediate and comprehensible manner, their legal rights and reason(s) for their detention… the detainee is guaranteed the assistance of a legal defender.” (Article 12, Item 2)
“The administrative detention shall not exceed 72 hours, during which the detainee shall appear before a judge.” (Article 13, Item 2)
The State of Exception cannot exceed 30 days, unless extended by decree in the National Assembly. As of March 2026, the State of Exception has been renewed 47 times and has now been in effect for almost four years.
With the passage of State of Exception in late March 2022, the Bukele regime also took the advantage of the state of national emergency to pass new and harsher penalties for gang activity as well as laws that further erode basic freedoms:
Lowered criminal responsibility of children involved in gang activity from 16-years, down to 12-years-old.
Allows prison sentences of up to 10 years for children ages 12 to 16 and up to 20 years for children over 16.
Convicted leaders of a “terrorist” gang face 40 to 45 years in prison, previously it was 14 years.
Membership in these groups now carries a sentence of 20 to 30 years, up from 3 to 5 years.
Criminalizes the creation of any type of publication, image, graffiti or other form of visual expression that “explicitly or implicitly” transmits “messages” about or that “alludes to” the various types of gangs. The penalty is up to 15 years in prison.
Criminalizes media outlets that “reproduce or transmit messages or statements created or allegedly created” by gangs that “could generate a state of anxiety and panic to the population in general.”3
Since March 2022, at least 85,000 Salvadoran citizens have been arbitrarily arrested; as of May 2025, approx. 90% remain imprisoned without any actual charges in a state of judicial limbo. Only around 8,000 detainees have actually been released for lack of evidence of any wrong-doing.
Around 2% of the adult population of El Salvador is incarcerated. El Salvador now has one of the leading incarceration rates in the world, ahead of the United States which has a population ~52 times larger.
Hundreds of documented arbitrary arrests; forced disappearances; wide usage of torture on detainees have been reported to human rights organizations.
Tens-of-thousands of detainees have remained imprisoned for 1-2 years, awaiting processing without access to legal representation, or contact with the outside world.
As of May 2025, at least 378 people have died in custody of the authorities. The actual number is believed to be over 1,000.
More than 1,000 children have been arrested, some as young as 12-13 years old.
Nearly 40,00 Salvadorans have been arrested on the nebulous charge of “unlawful association;” less than 1% were arrested for actual violent crimes.
The authorities can detain and arrest a Salvadoran citizen based SOLELY at the discretion (or whim) of the police officer. Most people are arrested on the nebulous suspicion of “illicit association” to gangs or criminal organizations. No evidence is required.
The authorities do not have any obligation to guarantee detainees ANY access to legal representation.
The authorities can arrest and detain any citizen for more than 72 hours without demonstrating cause or formally appearing before a judge. Given the tens-of-thousands of people in the system, the processing time can last months. Some detainees have been imprisoned for more than two years.
The authorities can violate the privacy of correspondence and telecommunications without a court order.
The authorities can arrest anyone without a court order and can re-arrest anyone EVEN if they have a cleared criminal record.
The authorities can conduct mass trials wherein defendants can be charged and sentenced simultaneously for a single crime in groups as large as 900.
You are entitled to your opinions about gangs and incarcerated people. But your feelings, prejudices, or outright hatred for these individuals are NOT the basis for law nor are they the basis for a system of justice in a constitutional democracy. In fact, this pointless arguing over whether gang members “deserve” human rights IS A DISTRACTION from the central issue:
When the Salvadoran people give the State permission to violate the basic human and legal rights of criminals and prisoners without any accountability, it is also giving the State the authority and discretion to abuse whomever they deem as a threat to the Salvadoran State and its interests. We have already seen the Salvadoran state target and arrest union organizers, community activists, water defenders, and even elderly former combatants!
Unfortunately, the need for security by a traumatized population, combined with an irrational thirst for vengeance and the dehumanization of incarcerated people perpetuated by Salvadoran government propaganda, has made many people blind or ambivalent about the human rights abuses being committed by the Bukele regime.
Absolutely NO ONE is forcing anyone to like gang members and prison inmates, feel any empathy for them, or even regard them as human beings.
Absolutely NO ONE is saying that hardened criminals, murderers, rapists, or other violent offenders should be set free to roam the streets.
Absolutely NO ONE is saying that detainees and prison inmates should be given 5-star hotel accommodations.
These are all hyperbolic talking points that the Bukele regime utilizes to arouse outrage, to enrage, and to distract the Salvadoran population and keep them from asking themselves some very basic questions:
What are the consequences of giving the Bukele government so much unchecked power?
What are the consequences for the whole Salvadoran nation in suspending basic legal rights and due process?
If El Salvador is the safest nation in Latin America as Bukele claims, why is the State of Exception still being renewed every month?
And if after understanding what is at stake in losing due process, a given person is still in favor of the Bukele government having the power to selectively suspend the rights and due process for anyone it deems to be a criminal; if they are okay with Salvadoran police arbitrarily profiling and arresting innocent citizens on the mere suspicion of being “associated with gangs;” if they are just fine with said innocent citizens DYING in prisons because they never got access to legal representation or medical care…
Then said given person is fundamentally against the very concept of constitutional rights and of democracy itself.
The irony of course is that if said given person were to be stopped by a cop, they would want every last precious legal right guaranteed by the constitution to be respected. But if the people of El Salvador can potentially lose their legal rights, well, that’s fine because gang members having basic human rights is somehow letting them “win.”
Constitution of El Salvador
Constitutional Law of the Salvadoran Civil National Police, Chapter IV: Code of Conduct.
Human Right Watch, “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights”