El Salvador Police Abuse: Officers Testify
- Police officers in El Salvador are engaging in abusive practices, including arbitrary detentions and fabrication of evidence, to meet arrest quotas during the country's state of emergency, Human...
- Since March 2022,El Salvador has been under a state of emergency that suspends some due process rights.
- According to Human Rights Watch, police officers described making arrests based on tattoos, false information, and uncorroborated anonymous calls.
El Salvador’s police are under scrutiny as officers detail widespread abuse and arbitrary arrests stemming from the country’s state of emergency. News reports reveal a system where arrests are allegedly driven by quotas and based on fabricated evidence, challenging due process. Internal documents expose officers’ accounts of extortion and sexual exploitation, painting a grim picture of unchecked power.Victims find themselves repeatedly detained, and actions are taken that bypass judicial orders.This situation, supported by low salaries, has resulted in corruption. News Directory 3 provides in-depth coverage. Discover what’s next as investigations unfold and accountability measures are considered.
El Salvador Police Accused of abuse, Arbitrary Arrests
Police officers in El Salvador are engaging in abusive practices, including arbitrary detentions and fabrication of evidence, to meet arrest quotas during the country’s state of emergency, Human Rights Watch reported. Interviews with officers and internal police documents reveal a pattern of abuse of power and bypassing due process.
Since March 2022,El Salvador has been under a state of emergency that suspends some due process rights. Security forces have arrested over 86,000 people, including more than 3,000 children, during this period.
According to Human Rights Watch, police officers described making arrests based on tattoos, false information, and uncorroborated anonymous calls. They also reported a climate of impunity that led to extortion and sexual exploitation.
One former police officer said people were frequently enough targeted due to personal disputes:
People detained under the state of emergency were reported by their enemies or adversaries for all kinds of reasons: business competition,family disputes over inheritance.… Police have made arrests on those grounds, often in exchange for payment.That has been the basis for many detentions.
Officers also reported that individuals released from prison were often immediately rearrested on the same charges,a tactic allegedly used to conceal wrongful detentions.
Another officer who managed a police station said officers were instructed not to comply with judicial orders to release people:
there’s a protocol: under the state of emergency everyone must be rearrested. They don’t get released.… Even if they had served their sentence, a new process [is] opened against them.
Low salaries and harsh working conditions contribute to corruption and abuse, officers said. Agents, who make up the majority of the police force, earn between $424 and $603 per month.
What’s next
Human Rights Watch is calling for strict accountability measures to prevent further abuse by El Salvador’s security forces, warning that the situation could worsen if unchecked.