El Salvador’s State of Exception: Masking Rights Violations Under the Guise of Security

El Salvador’s ongoing state of exception, enacted in March 2022 as a tool to combat violent gangs, has morphed into a dangerous vehicle for government overreach and rampant violations of human rights. While President Nayib Bukele touts historic drops in homicide rates and claims the nation is now among the safest in the hemisphere, the reality on the ground tells a far more troubling story.Thousands of hard-working Salvadoran families find themselves caught in an oppressive dragnet that has swept up more than 87,000 detentions, including at least 8,000 innocent people who remain entangled in lengthy criminal proceedings despite having no...