Washington (EFE).- The United States said this Thursday that the Government of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador has the “responsibility” to guarantee the safety of the population, in addition to respecting human rights and due process.
This is how a State Department spokesman expressed himself when questioned by EFE about the controversial Salvadoran prison to which 2,000 alleged gang members were transferred last Friday.
The images of the prisoners, shirtless, with the characteristic gang tattoos, handcuffed, crouched and piled up, have traveled the world in recent days, with many detractors for the lack of humanity in their treatment.
“We recognize the challenge that El Salvador faces to curb gang violence,” said the spokesman for US diplomacy.
“Guaranteeing public safety is the responsibility of governments,” he added. They also have a responsibility to ensure due process of law and to respect human rights.”
According to official figures, under the emergency regime, approved a year ago after an escalation of murders, more than 64,000 people have been detained, whom the Salvadoran government accuses of being gang members and of whom they have released more than 3,300.
Salvadoran humanitarian organizations and the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDDH) have received more than 7,900 complaints of abuses, most for arbitrary detentions.
The authorities attribute the drop in homicides to this measure and the Territorial Control Plan, which according to official accounts were 496 in 2022, 57% less than in 2021.
Exchange of Bukele with Petro
Just a few hours before, Nayib Bukele assured, on Wednesday night, in response to an exchange of messages on Twitter with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, that the number of homicides in the Central American country “is now in single digits.” .
The foregoing is in response to a proposal by Petro for an “international forum” to compare the experiences of both countries regarding the reduction of homicides, after the Central American ruler wished the Andean nation to lower those rates.
“Our experience: From more than 100 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, we are now in single digit figures. And the reduction was rapid, because the dead do not recover,” Bukele published.
Earlier, Petro assured in a government act that you can see on the networks “the terrible photos – I can’t get into other countries – of the concentration camp in El Salvador, full of young people, thousands and thousands, imprisoned that he gives to one chills”.
