Guardian

Thousands of children swept up in El Salvador mass arrests, rights body says

More than 60 children detained, beaten and tortured in El Salvador, rights group says

According to a Human Rights Watch report published Tuesday, over 60 children in El Salvador have been arbitrarily detained and abused in the two years since the government declared a state of emergency to combat criminal gangs.

Reuters

The report alleges that El Salvadorian police rounded up 3,319 children and teenagers between March 2022 and April 2024, when the emergency was introduced that suspended certain civil rights and allowed arrests without a warrant.

The rights group claims children were detained in "countless indiscriminate raids" that mostly targeted low-income neighborhoods and teenagers with low socioeconomic status and "no apparent connection to gangs' abusive activity."

Al Jazeera

Based on over 90 interviews, the report alleged prison authorities subjected children to severe ill-treatment, "including beatings and sexual assault," and deprived the minors of food, healthcare, and access to their families.

Pres. Nayib Bukele's administration has detained more than 80K alleged gangsters, which reportedly reduced its homicide rate and turned El Salvador from one of Latin America's deadliest countries to one of its safest.

South China Morning Post

In 2015, nearly 1% of the population were members of two criminal gangs, Barrio 18 and MS13, and the homicide rate was 103 per 100K people. Since the beginning of the emergency, the homicide rate has fallen to 2.4 per 100K.

Report: Children Abused in El Salvador's Prisons

Report: Children Abused in El Salvador's Prisons

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Report: Children Abused in El Salvador's Prisons

Report: Children Abused in El Salvador's Prisons

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