El Salvador State of Exception; A Security Measure Implemented to Fight Gangs

El Salvador’s State of Exception is a security measure implemented by the Salvadoran Government to attack criminal gangs directly. The state of exception that restricts some constitutional guarantees has resulted in the arrest of over 79,000 alleged gang members and collaborators.

The security measure was approved in late March 2022 by the legislative assembly at the request of the country’s security cabinet. Since then, the state of exception has been extended consecutively over 24 times in 30-day increments.

The harsh and controversial security measure began as a response to a spike in homicides in a weekend in late March 2022, which left 87 people dead. Authorities attributed these deaths to the MS13 and 18 Street gangs.

At first, the state of exception suspended certain constitutional rights and guarantees outlined in articles 7, 12, 13, and 24 of the Constitution of the Republic.

As of today, only specific sections of articles 12, 13, and 24 of the Salvadoran constitution remain suspended under the state of exception.

Article 12, Paragraph 2 Is Suspended

The detained person shall be immediately and clearly informed of his rights and the reasons for his detention, and cannot be compelled to make a declaration. The detained is guaranteed the assistance of a defense lawyer (Defensor) during the proceedings of the auxiliary organs of the administration of justice and in judicial proceedings, in the terms established by the law.

Any individual detained under the state of exception does not have the right to a defense and to be informed of the reason for the arrest.

Article 13, Paragraph 2 Is Suspended

Administrative detention shall not exceed seventy-two hours, within which the detained must be consigned to the order of a competent judge, with the diligence that he may have practiced.

Authorities can now hold those arrested under the security measure for 15 days before taking them to see a judge. Before, it couldn’t exceed 72 hours.

Article 24, Paragraph 2 Is Suspended

Interference and tapping of telecommunications are prohibited. Exceptionally, the temporary intervention of any kind of telecommunications may be judicially authorized, in a written and reasoned form, maintaining in any case the secrecy of private issues that are unrelated to the process. Information drawn from an illegal intervention will have no value.

Those detained under the state of exception lack the right to privacy in their telecommunications. Authorities can access all their communications without the need for a warrant

Salvadorans approve of the State of Exception

Based on survey results, most Salvadorans approve of the State of Exception. However, most Salvadorans don’t know about the suspension of constitutional guarantees.

For example, in the latest Iudop-UCA survey, Salvadorans gave the state of exception a score of 8.13 out of 10. The previous scores were 7.99 after three months, 7.24 after six months, 7.92 after one year, and 8.13 after two years; these are excellent approval numbers.

Nevertheless, most Salvadorans don’t know about the constitutional guarantees suspended during the security measure.

In the same 2024 Iudop-UCA survey, over 77% stated that they didn’t know about the three constitutional rights and guarantees suspended by the state of exception. The 2024 percentages are similar to the 2023 numbers.

To sum up, most Salvadorans continue to approve of the state of exception; however, the majority are unaware of the constitutional guarantees that have been suspended.
Here is the latest survey.

Iudop-UCA (April 2024)

With a score of 8.13 out of 10, it is clear that according to this survey, Salvadorans approve of the state of exception.

The Iudop-UCA survey asked, “Do you feel secure or insecure with the state of exception?” To this, 87.5% replied feeling secure, 5.2% expressed feeling insecure, and 7.3% stated feeling neither secure nor insecure.

El Salvador’s State of Exception Under Scrutiny

Local and international human rights organizations have condemned the Salvadoran State of Exception because, according to them, it has violated many fundamental individual human rights.

Humanitarian organizations, such as Cristosal, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Amnesty International, have produced reports denouncing the security strategy for alleged human rights violations.

Even though the State of Exception has produced good results, such as lowering the homicide rate and delivering many days with zero homicides, these organizations want the Salvadoran Government to stop the security measures.

Salvadoran State of Exception

The Salvadoran State of Exception is part of Nayib Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan that aims to reduce crime and violence in El Salvador.

According to the Government and survey results, the security measure is producing excellent results, and people want the government to continue to extend it. However, there is plenty of evidence that some people not associated with gangs have been wrongfully arrested.

Violence has been one of the principal challenges Salvadorans have faced over the last 30 years. Life in El Salvador has gotten easier with the current levels of security.