Over 30,000 people have been arrested under a “state of exception” in El Salvador, police said, as President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on armed gangs continues.
The country’s police said on Twitter on Monday that 30,506 arrests had been carried out “since the start of the war against the gangs”, including “536 terrorists” who were arrested on Sunday alone.
El Salvador’s Congress approved a “state of exception” in late March after a weekend of gang-related violence left more than 80 people dead, spurring widespread fears among residents in the Central American nation.
The order, under which the authorities have been able to suspend certain civil liberties, was renewed for another 30 days in late April.
Bukele has defended his government’s push against gang members, warning Salvadoran parents to keep their children away from gangs or risk “prison or death.