Mano Dura Redux: The Price of Mass Gang Arrests in El Salvador
BARRIO 18
/15 JUN 2022 BY SETH ROBBINS
While the scope of the recent mass arrests in El Salvador is shocking, it is not the first time that the country has used emergency measures to crack down on street gangs.
Since El Salvador legislators granted President Nayib Bukele emergency powers in late March, authorities have arrested more than 40,000 people, or about one percent of the population between the ages of 15 to 64, according to World Bank figures. The sweeping arrests, which began after a three-day killing spree that left 87 people dead, are unprecedented in their speed and breadth. Human rights groups and family members allege a growing number of arbitrary detentions.
El Salvador governments have long used mano dura (iron fist) policies to crack down on the MS13 and Barrio 18 street gangs. The first mano dura campaign in the early 2000s resulted in some 23,000 arrests. An unintended – and costly – consequence was the recruitment of a new generation of gang members in the overcrowded prisons.
InSight Crime spoke to security analyst Douglas Farah, who recently produced an in-depth report that examined the MS13, about how the sweeping arrests are likely to affect the gangs. The conversation also touched upon recent evidence that Bukele officials negotiated with imprisoned gang leaders to keep homicide figures low, and aided in the release of several who are wanted on US terrorism charges.
More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/mano-dura-redux-the-price-of-mass-gang-arrests-in-el-salvador/