El Salvadors mass arrest policy may have led to crimes against humanity, study shows
Guardian4 days
Report: El Salvador May Have Committed Crimes Against Humanity
Is El Salvador's crackdown a bold crime-fighting triumph or a brutal assault on human rights and democracy?
Above: Activists hold allusive signs during a protest against President Nayib Bukele's policies in San Salvador, on Jan. 25, 2026. Image credit: Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Under the guise of carrying out an innovative tough-on-crime approach, El Salvador locked up 1.4% of its population without due process and committed crimes against humanity. While far-right leaders cheer Bukele on as a beacon of crime-fighting, he actually dismantled courts, rigged elections and jailed critics. Trading democracy for security theater destroys the very institutions that the West took decades to build.
Pro-government narrative
The so-called experts and their NGOs stayed silent while gangs cut off hands, beheaded innocents and bombed children. Now, they suddenly care deeply about El Salvador, exposing a selective outrage that exposes their corrupt agenda. Under Bukele, the country has prioritized the rights of hardworking people over those of murderers and rapists, and the results speak for themselves.
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0