Around 500 prison inmates have died in El Salvador since President Nayib Bukele launched his “war” against gangs, according to the Salvadoran Humanitarian Legal Aid (SJH) organisation on Friday.
Under emergency measures introduced by Bukele on 27 March 2022, some 91,000 individuals have been arrested without judicial warrants. Rights groups have raised concerns over serious human rights violations linked to the ongoing crackdown.
The SJH report claims that these mass arrests have led to an increase in prison deaths, with 500 fatalities recorded so far. Of these, 94% of the victims were reportedly not gang members.
The NGO based its findings on testimonies from families and unofficial sources, criticising the government for failing to provide any official data on the matter.
According to the report, roughly a third of deaths resulted from inadequate medical care, while 30% were violent. The remaining cases lacked a specific identified cause of death.
In many instances, proper police inspections were reportedly not conducted, despite visible signs of violence on the bodies, SJH noted in its report.
The organisation further accused authorities of “torture and inhumane treatment” through the denial of access to medicines and medical care for prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
The report identified that 41% of deaths occurred in the Izalco prison, west of San Salvador, 18% at La Esperanza prison in the capital’s northern outskirts, and the remainder across other detention centres in the country.
President Bukele responded on social media, accusing human rights organisations of being “international legal offices for crime.”
Bukele remains popular among many Salvadorans due to his success in significantly lowering homicide rates and dismantling gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, which are considered terrorist organisations by both the United States and El Salvador.
