Salvadoran President’s Plan for Early Prison Releases

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has introduced a new initiative that might allow for the conditional early release of up to 50% of individuals detained under a state of emergency. This emergency status has enabled authorities to arrest over 90,000 people in the last four and a half years as a part of measures intended to reduce gang violence.

Announced on Tuesday night, Bukele’s proposal aims to focus on releasing prisoners identified as gang collaborators. This term is quite broad and can encompass various roles, such as individuals who serve as watchouts for gangs or those who pay extortion fees.

Bukele has acknowledged that while many individuals have committed crimes related to gang collaboration, the context is important. “We come from a country where collaborating with gangs wasn’t so unusual,” he remarked, suggesting that if they were to arrest everyone involved, it would involve a significant portion of the population.

The specifics of how this analysis and potential release would unfold were not detailed by the president. However, he suggested that authorities would look into cases to assess the early release possibilities, which might apply to a substantial number of those detained during the emergency.

The state of emergency was initially declared in March 2022 following a violent episode that resulted in over sixty deaths in a single day. Initially set for a 30-day period, this measure has seen multiple extensions since then.

During this state of emergency, the country’s homicide rate has dramatically decreased, which some argue has made El Salvador a more appealing destination for tourists. However, this has come at the cost of suspending or limiting certain constitutional protections, including rights related to legal counsel and visitation. Bukele has insisted that the emergency measures were necessary to tackle the threats posed by rival gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18.

Conversely, human rights groups have condemned the state of emergency for inciting widespread arbitrary arrests and have consistently urged Bukele to revoke these measures. Reports indicate that there have been over 6,000 complaints filed and at least 575 people have died in detention during this period.

The proposed release of thousands of prisoners has been criticized as insufficient to address the consequences of their extended imprisonment. For example, exiled attorney Bertha Deleón emphasized that those wrongfully detained should not only regain their freedom but also receive compensation for the state’s actions and the psychological and physical harm endured.

In a defensive stance, Bukele has dismissed the criticism from domestic and international human rights organizations, suggesting they should prioritize the rights of victims impacted by gang violence.

The president appears to be balancing the necessity of maintaining the state of emergency with eventual plans to bring it to an end. According to government statistics, El Salvador’s homicide rate has seen a drop, reducing from over 100 murders per 100,000 residents in 2015 to 1.3 per 100,000 in 2025. However, it should be noted that the government has narrowed the definition of homicide, potentially excluding police-related killings, murders in prisons, and bodies found in unmarked graves.