Salvadoran Archbishop praises government crackdown on gangs
San Salvador, El SalvadorAP The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador said Sunday that most people support a months-long state of emergency that has rounded of tens of thousands of suspects in a crackdown on violent street gangs. While critics say the campaign has violated human rights and swept up apparently innocent people, Archbishop José […]
Salvadoran President vows tougher war on gangs after police killed
San Salvador, El Salvador Reuters President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador pledged on Tuesday that his government will “intensify” already tough efforts to combat gangs after three police officers were gunned down earlier in the day. Bukele declared a state of emergency in March in an effort to rein in a spike in homicides, suspending […]
At least 18 have died in Salvadoran police custody amid crackdown – Amnesty
San Salvador, El SalvadorReuters At least 18 people have died in Salvadoran police custody since the Central American country introduced a controversial state of emergency to combat gangs two months ago, according to an investigation presented Thursday by Amnesty International. President Nayib Bukele’s government declared an emergency regime at the end of March after a historic rise […]
In El Salvador’s gang crackdown, quotas drive “arbitrary” arrests of innocents
San Salvador, El Salvador Reuters Dozens of innocent people have been apprehended in El Salvador in recent months amid President Nayib Bukele’s “war on gangs,” after superiors forced officers to meet daily arrest quotas during a state of emergency, five officials told Reuters. In March, El Salvador registered 62 murders in a single day, the […]
El Salvador extends emergency powers to fight gangs
San Salvador, El SalvadorReuters El Salvador’s Congress on Sunday approved a month-long extension of emergency measures that rights groups say infringe civil liberties but which President Nayib Bukele has said are necessary after a surge of gang killings. The measures, which enact emergency powers to limit some constitutional rights, went into effect late last month […]
El Salvador making it harder for murderous gangs to spread messages
San Salvador, El Salvador Reuters Waging a campaign against gangs responsible for El Salvador having one of the world’s highest murder rates, Congress in the Central American republic passed a bill on Tuesday criminalising the publication of gang messages, including by news outlets. Last month, President Nayib Bukele invoked emergency powers to suspend some constitutional […]
El Salvador plans first ‘Bitcoin City’, backed by bitcoin bonds
Mizata, El SalvadorReuters El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”, funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday, doubling down on his bet to harness the crypto currency to fuel investment in the Central American country. Speaking at an event closing a week-long promotion of bitcoin in El Salvador, […]
Migrant families wary as El Salvador becomes first to adopt bitcoin
Colon, El SalvadorReuters Each month, Salvadoran tailor Julio Ramirez receives a small wire transfer from his two daughters in the United States, who have to pay a few dollars in commission fees for the transaction. As of this week, El Salvador’s government says its historic adoption of bitcoin as legal tender will save Salvadorans living […]