El Salvador’s Congress, controlled by President Nayib Bukele, voted Friday to extend the detention of tens of thousands of alleged gang members until at least 2027, giving prosecutors time to prepare charges for around 600 planned mass trials.
The measure is part of a reform to the Organized Crime Law, passed just ten days before the deadline that required authorities to either charge or release 88,750 people arrested under the state of exception in place since 2022. Those detained are accused of being gang members or collaborators.
Fifty-seven ruling party lawmakers in the 60-seat Legislative Assembly approved the reform, granting the Attorney General’s Office 24 months to file charges, with the option of an additional 12-month extension if approved by a judge.
Ruling party lawmaker Caleb Navarro defended the reform, saying it ensures “gang members never return to the streets.”
Bukele remains popular for his “war” on gangs, but the state of exception has been condemned by international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. They report at least 433 deaths in custody, allegations of torture and abuse, and claim thousands of innocent people have been jailed.
Opposition lawmaker Francisco Lira told Congress, “I don’t defend gangs or criminals or extortionists, but we could be talking about 40% of those detained being innocent people.”
Two weeks earlier, Congress also paved the way for Bukele’s indefinite re-election. He argues that El Salvador is now the safest country in the Western Hemisphere thanks to the state of exception, which allows arrests without a warrant and suspends due process guarantees.
The Attorney General’s Office plans to group defendants by gang affiliation, alleged crimes, or the areas where they operated. Forty-four judges specialized in organized crime will oversee the mass trials, including cases of minors who will be accompanied by other judges to ensure their rights, though without influence over sentencing.
On Friday, about 200 people marched in San Salvador, organized by the Movement of Victims of the Regime (Movir), calling for the state of exception to be declared unconstitutional. Protesters chanted “freedom for the innocent” and “they were taken alive, we want them alive” outside the Legislative Assembly before heading to the Supreme Court.
Human rights groups report that of the 88,750 detainees, around 15,000 remain held at the massive Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) prison, with tens of thousands more in overcrowded medium and maximum-security facilities. Authorities claim some 8,000 detainees have been released, though NGOs note they remain under surveillance and legal proceedings.
