Central America
El Salvador extends state of emergency to curb gang violence
AFP
El Salvador’s lawmakers on Sunday extended a state of emergency for another month at the request of President Nayib Bukele, after it was imposed in late March to stamp out a wave of deadly gang violence.
The measures were initially enacted March 27 after a weekend in which 87 people were killed in gang-related violence, expanding police powers so that they could arrest members without a warrant.
Since then, more than 16,000 people have been arrested, and Bukele on Sunday requested lawmakers to extend the state of emergency for another month.
After summoning members to a session, Ernesto Castro, president of the Legislative Assembly — controlled by Bukele’s ruling party — declared that they had approved the extension, by 67 out of 84 votes.
The new decree states that “security conditions persist which urgently demand the extension… due to the continuation of the circumstances which motivated it,” he said.
Once Bukele signs the decree, the extension begins on Tuesday.
Besides arrests without a warrant, the emergency measures also restrict freedom of assembly, while telephone calls and emails can be intercepted without a court order.
Also on Sunday, they approved another law to “simplify and facilitate” the acquisition of tax-free goods and render services by the government to address the emergency.
The authorities have said they are planning to build new prisons to hold the thousands of gang members they detain.
– Crackdown –
Bukele hailed the extension, calling it “the definition of democracy.”
“More than 1,000 terrorists captured on this day alone. More than 17,000 in just 30 days,” he tweeted. “We continue… #WarAgainstGangs.”
The wave of detentions is unprecedented in a country that has suffered decades of violent crime driven by powerful gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.
The country’s gangs have about 70,000 members, of whom 32,000 are now incarcerated as a result of the crackdown, according to authorities.
Lawmakers had also approved in early April a reform to punish gang members with up to 45 years in prison — a sharp increase to the original maximum penalty of nine years.
Other legislation also approved this month criminalizes disseminating gang-related messages in the media, with penalties of up to 15 years in jail. Journalists have warned that this reform could target certain forms of reporting.
El Salvadoran NGOs asked the judiciary this week to declare that legislation unconstitutional.
Such broad and swift enactment of powers granted to the military and police has drawn alarm from local and international human rights organizations.
The 40-year-old president, elected in 2019, enjoys broad support in El Salvador over his promises to fight organized crime and improve security in the violence-wracked country.
Central America
Arévalo accuses Porras and judge of undermining democracy in Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo denounced a new attempt at a “coup” orchestrated by the Attorney General’s Office. He also requested an extraordinary session at the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the country’s ongoing political crisis.
The president has been at odds with Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being “corrupt” and “anti-democratic.” Since 2023, Arévalo has accused Porras of launching investigations against his party, Semilla, and the 2023 elections as part of a scheme to prevent his inauguration in January 2024.
From the presidential office, Arévalo has said he continues to “resist” the “coup plotters,” but tensions escalated last Friday when Judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office, ordered the electoral court to annul the Semilla party’s promoter group. Arévalo interpreted this as an attempt to revoke the positions won by the party.
“Orellana, a hitman who distorts the law in service of Consuelo Porras, is attempting to force […] the unconstitutional removal of a mayor, 23 elected deputies […], the vice president, and the president of the country,” Arévalo said in a televised address on Sunday.
“We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the coup being attempted in Guatemala,” he added, speaking alongside his cabinet and congressional members at the National Palace in Guatemala City.
Arévalo requested that the Organization of American States hold an extraordinary session to present “the serious threats” to the Guatemalan Constitution and democracy perpetrated by Porras and Orellana.
Yesterday, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez reaffirmed the president’s statements, emphasizing the need “to go and expose the situation” Guatemala has been facing since last week due to the actions of the Attorney General’s Office.
Central America
New dismembered bodies found in San Juan river days after mass killing in Palencia
On the morning of Monday, October 27, Guatemala’s Volunteer Firefighters confirmed the discovery of two bodies and two human heads inside plastic bags in the San Juan River, located in the Zacualpía village at kilometer 21 of the Atlantic Highway, in the jurisdiction of Palencia.
The remains were found by personnel from Companies 85, 50, and Central, who responded after receiving a report about suspicious bags floating in the water. The gruesome discovery was made just a few meters from the site where eight tortured bodies were found under the San Juan Bridge on Friday, October 24.
Local authorities do not rule out a connection between both incidents and suspect they may be tied to the same criminal organization. Investigators from the Public Ministry and the National Civil Police arrived at the scene to gather evidence and transfer the remains to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif).
According to data from the National Economic Research Center (CIEN), Guatemala recorded 2,154 homicides between January and August 2025, an increase compared to the 1,816 reported during the same period in 2024.
Central America
Four guatemalan soldiers arrested for stealing weapons from Northern Air Command
Four soldiers were arrested in connection with the theft of weapons from the Northern Air Command of the Ministry of Defense in Petén, Guatemala, following operations conducted by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office).
“During the operations, criminal scenes were processed, analyzed, and documented photographically, possible escape routes were identified, surveillance cameras were located, and potential witnesses were interviewed,” the Prosecutor’s Office explained in a social media post.
The detained soldiers were identified as Ludwin Jónathan Cardona Baltazar, charged with illicit association, dereliction of duty, and aggravated theft; and Josué Israel Pérez Jerónimo, Alain Omar Marroquín Soch, and Carlos Ernesto Ibarra Corrales, charged with dereliction of duty, according to Guatemala’s Prensa Libre.
The military personnel reportedly stole 55 rifles, 14,420 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, 92 magazines of 35 rounds each, 19 magazines of 20 rounds each, and three grenade launchers, “which were allegedly moved from the arms warehouse to the outside for illicit sale.”
The Ministry of Defense stated that it will keep its internal control mechanisms active to prevent similar incidents.
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