El Salvador: Police Officers Speak Out About Abuses

Police search people bus passengers during the state of emergency in Santa Ana, El Salvador, June 30, 2022. © 2022 MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images Interviews with police officers and internal police documents reveal abusive practices that have led to arbitrary detention and abuse of power in El Salvador.Their accounts provide a rare insight into how the Salvadoran police have fabricated evidence to fulfill arrests quotas, extorted innocent people, bypassed due process, and defied court orders.Gang violence has decreased in El Salvador, but Salvadorans are not safe because they are exposed…

© Human Rights Watch - vendredi 27 juin 2025