Vice President Félix Ulloa. Archive Photo.
Salvadoran Vice President, Félix Ulloa, emphasized efforts to improve the arrest protocols under the state of emergency, which has been in place for over three years.
In a recent interview with the French magazine Le Grand Continent, Ulloa stated the government is working to reduce the “margin of error” in its arrest procedures, acknowledging that some mistakes have occurred, but asserting that the overall response remains successful.
Ulloa noted that more than 85,000 people have been arrested since the state of emergency began in March 2022, and 7,000 people had been released as of April 2025, an 8.2% margin of error.
He highlighted that the government has implemented new protocols to avoid wrongful detentions, particularly targeting young individuals based solely on tattoos or appearance.
Vice President Ulloa stated that, “We’re not going to arrest any young person who walks around with a tattoo,” reinforcing that the government is correcting past missteps in the handling of arrests, including those involving human rights violations by police or military personnel.
Despite these challenges, the vice president referred to the ongoing initiative as a success, citing the homicide rate’s decrease to just 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants as evidence of its positive impact.
Considering that we’ve captured more than 80,000 people and released more than 7,000, the margin of error is less than 10%. In a war like the one we’re waging against gangs, this is a success for us.” Salvadoran Vice President, Félix Ulloa.
However, human rights groups have raised concerns about the process. According to Humanitarian Legal Aid (SJH), 394 detainees have died in custody, with a significant number having no prior criminal records.
Furthermore, the University Observatory of Human Rights (OUDH) recorded over 1,100 cases of arbitrary detention in 2023 and 2024, with many victims being young men aged 18 to 35.
In response to these reports, Ulloa assured that the government is correcting these “bad practices” and improving accountability, highlighting the establishment of a police complaints office for misconduct.
The Salvadoran government continues to defend the state of exception security measures as a means to reduce gang violence; nevertheless, opposition from human rights groups persists, particularly over concerns of arbitrary detentions and violations of due process.
Nevertheless, the state of emergency has led to a significant decline in homicides, as acknowledged by the OUDH.
The government remains focused on refining the state of exception protocols to ensure better accuracy and human rights protections in the future.
