At least 150 people jailed under El Salvador's emergency powers have died, according to new report

[Judi Lynn]

None of those who died had been convicted of a crime they were accused of at the time of their arrest, according to the report by Cristosal, a human rights group.



Inmates identified by authorities as gang members in the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 15.El Salvador Presidential Press Office via AP

May 30, 2023, 8:24 AM CDT / Source: Associated Press
By Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — At least 153 people jailed since El Salvador instituted emergency powers in March 2022 to confront the country’s powerful street gangs have died in state custody, according to a report released Monday by the human rights group Cristosal.

None of those who died had been convicted of a crime they were accused of at the time of their arrest. There were four women among the victims and the rest were men.

The deaths were the result of torture, and systematic and serious injuries, the report said. Nearly half of the victims suffered violent deaths. Some of the deaths showed signs they resulted from deliberate denial of medical assistance, medicine and food, including some deaths resulting from malnutrition.

The deaths revealed punitive policies carried out by guards and prison officials. The report stated that such actions would have required authorization and backing by the highest level security officials.

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/least-150-people-jailed-el-salvadors-emergency-powers-died-according-n-rcna86785

[Judi Lynn]

1. Over 150 people arrested under special powers die in Salvadoran prisons

By Associated Press
2:18pm May 30, 2023

At least 153 people jailed since El Salvador instituted emergency powers in March 2022 to confront the country's powerful street gangs have died in state custody, according to a report released on Monday by the human rights group Cristosal.

None of those who died had been convicted of a crime they were accused of at the time of their arrest. There were four women among the victims and the rest were men.

The deaths were the result of torture, and systematic and serious injuries, the report said. Nearly half of the victims suffered violent deaths. Some of the deaths showed signs they resulted from deliberate denial of medical assistance, medicine and food, including some deaths resulting from malnutrition.

The deaths revealed punitive policies carried out by guards and prison officials.
The report stated that such actions would have required authorisation and backing by the highest level security officials.
The government has not provided an official count of deaths among the incarcerated.

More:
https://www.9news.com.au/world/at-least-153-people-arrested-under-special-powers-have-died-in-salvadoran-prisons/b31587a0-68e0-4274-8f7c-63474d20bc45

[Judi Lynn]

2. Google translation: El Salvador condemns former president Mauricio Funes for agreeing a "truce" with

El Salvador condemns former president Mauricio Funes for agreeing a "truce" with the gangs

The defendant was former president Mauricio Funes, who won the Presidency leading the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front. According to the Salvadoran Justice, his sentence responds to a "truce" that he sealed with the country's gangs during his government. The former Minister of Security and Justice, David Munguía, was also sentenced for "arbitrary acts." In this context, President Nayib Bukele intensifies his offensive against criminal gangs.

First modification:05/30/2023 - 00:44

2 min

Text by:
Raphael Perez

14 years in prison for crimes committed during his government. A truce agreed between gangs during the term of the former president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, led the Justice of that country to investigate the role of the then head of state.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Funes' total sentence is divided into eight years for the charge of "illicit groups" and six for "failure to comply with duties." The former president, who is currently in asylum in Nicaragua, was tried in absentia.

Also convicted was General David Munguía Payés, who served as Minister of Justice and Security during Funes's tenure. He received 18 years in prison, almost five years more than his former boss, for "arbitrary acts."

It is not the first time that a former president has been sentenced to prison in El Salvador in recent years. In 2018, Elías Antonio Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption.

They considered themselves untouchable, but the time has come to put an end to so many years of selective impunity, those who made dark negotiations at the cost of the blood of Salvadorans have been sentenced to pay in prison for the damage caused to society.

This Government and State already… https://t.co/PGbQGN2KR6

— Gustavo Villatoro 🇸🇻 (@Vi11atoro) May 29, 2023

"They considered themselves untouchable," current Security and Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro said on Twitter. "The time has come to put an end to so many years of selective impunity, those who made dark negotiations at the cost of the blood of Salvadorans have been sentenced to pay prison for the damage caused to society," he concluded.

The pact with criminal gangs

According to the Salvadoran Justice, local gangs, among which were the Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS13, and Barrio 18, agreed with the Government of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, headed by Funes, to reduce the number of homicides.

The deal, says the Public Ministry, was backed by favors such as benefits for the gang leaders in prison, a reduced presence of security forces in the neighborhoods where these illegal groups worked, and public investment in areas under the control of the gangs. .

#CombateALaCorrupción I @FGR_SV achieves that former President Mauricio Funes and David Munguía Payés, former Minister of Justice and Security, receive sentences of 14 and 18 years in prison, respectively.

The Prosecutor against Corruption provides more details of the case: pic.twitter.com/CNk0pmePxB

– Attorney General of the Republic of El Salvador (@FGR_SV) May 29, 2023

These actions were denied by Mauricio Funes in a statement made to the Prosecutor's Office in 2016. However, Munguía Payés contradicted the politician's version by stating that the armistice was part of a "pacification" policy.

Toughening of the policy against gangs

The current government, under the leadership of Nayib Bukele, announced that it will launch a new offensive against the "remnants" of the gangs. According to the Presidency, the objective of this measure is to avoid a "regrouping" of the gangs.

This Sunday, the President @nayibbukele is meeting with the Security Cabinet.

Although we are decisively winning the #GuerraContraPandillas , we will launch an offensive against the remnants of these structures, to prevent any attempt at regrouping, as… pic.twitter.com/Z6ExP6WK7F

– Presidential House 🇸🇻 (@PresidenciaSV) May 28, 2023

The justification for the hardening of the security policy was the murder of a member of the security forces at the hands of criminals. In response, the president deployed some 5,000 military personnel to cordon off the municipality of Nueva Concepción, the area where the events occurred.

We promised…

…and we delivered. pic.twitter.com/yuM8s66Edy

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 28, 2023

https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20230529-el-salvador-condenan-al-expresidente-mauricio-funes-por-pactar-tregua-con-las-pandillas

[Judi Lynn]

3. Ex-El Salvador President Mauricio Funes sentenced to 14 years for negotiating with gangs

By MARCOS ALEMÁN
today



FILE - El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes stands in the National Assembly before speaking to commemorate the anniversary of his third year in office in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 1, 2012. El Salvador's Attorney General's Office on Friday, May 12, 2023 asked a court to impose a 16-year prison sentence on the former president for allegedly arranging a truce with gangs to lower the homicide rate in exchange for benefits for their jail leaders. (AP Photo/Luis Romero, File)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A judge sentenced former El Salvador President Mauricio Funes to 14 years in prison Monday for negotiating with gangs during his administration.

Funes’ trial began in April with the former leader living in Nicaragua. El Salvador changed its laws last year to allow trials in absentia.

Prosecutors had accused Funes of illicit association and failure to perform his duties for the gang truce negotiated in 2012. Funes had denied negotiating with the gangs or giving their leaders any privileges.

Funes’ former Security Minister Gen. David Munguía Payes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his involvement in the negotiations.

Munguía Payes said after the sentencing that the trial was full of irregularities.

“I consider myself a political prisoner, for only having served as the ex-minister of President Funes. They accuse me of a series of accusations that have no foundation,” he said.

More:
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/el-salvador-s-legacy-of-impunity-hampers-its-ongoing-fight-against-corruption/