At least 241 people have died in El Salvador’s prisons during the ‘war on gangs,’ rights group says

By MARCOS ALEMÁN
Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — The rights group Humanitarian Legal Relief says at least 241 people have died in El Salvador prisons since the start of President Nayib Bukele’s “war on gangs” two years ago. Ingrid Escobar, director of the rights organization, said they received 500 reports of deaths in state custody, but they have confirmed about half. Last year, the organization documented 126 deaths, just half of the number they documented this year. In March 2022, Bukele announced a “state of exception,” waiving many constitutional rights to combat the gangs that have terrorized the nation. Since then, El Salvador has arrested 80,000 people.