Thanks to U.S. intransigence, a Salvadoran crisis repeats itself

[Judi Lynn]

Felipe De La Hoz, June 11
History Unheeded

THE PRESIDENT OF EL SALVADOR arrives at the Legislative Assembly for a special session on heavy-handed anti-crime measures he’s proposing. Only he doesn’t arrive alone: along with the standard entourage of presidential advisers and staff, he’s accompanied by police officers and a retinue of soldiers in military fatigues carrying what appear to be U.S.-made M16 rifles in a clear display of force.

Opposition figures describe the situation as an “attempted coup,” and the United Nations calls for dialogue. A few Latin American national governments condemn the move, joined by a smattering of U.S. lawmakers. The U.S. ambassador tepidly writes that he “didn’t approve” of the soldiers’ presence, but otherwise there are crickets from the State Department. Less than two months later, in a statement on foreign assistance for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the secretary of state writes that the United States will fund “support programs to continue our joint efforts to deter illegal immigration to the United States” and “complement existing security plans.”

When does this scene take place? Absent knowledge of the specific events, a reasonably well-informed observer might pin it sometime in the 1970s, leading up to the 1979 coup that overthrew Carlos Humberto Romero, or perhaps the latter half of the 1980s, after elections were again allowed by the military junta. In actuality, these events all transpired this year. The Salvadoran president in question is current President Nayib Bukele, who marched troops into the assembly in February, as part of a broader turn toward despotism.

Bukele appears to relish over-the-top displays of state power and aggression. In April, rights groups recoiled at horrific photos of imprisoned men handcuffed together in long lines, their medical masks a darkly absurd detail as they were sandwiched against each other during the worst pandemic in a hundred years. A couple of days later, additional photos showed workers hunched over sheets of metal, sparks flying as they were cut to be placed over cell doors.

More:
https://thebaffler.com/latest/history-unheeded-de-la-hoz

[Judi Lynn]

1. El Salvador lines up semi-naked gang members for grim prison photos

Reuters

April 28, 2020 · 9:00 AM EDT



Inmates are show at Izalco jail during a 24-hour lockdown ordered by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, photograph released to Reuters by the El Salvador Presidency on April 25, 2020.

Credit:
El Salvador Presidency/Handout via Reuters

The images of hundreds of jailed gang members stripped to their underwear and pressed together in formation published over the weekend on the Twitter account of El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele's office were widely condemed by human rights groups and stood in contrast to social-distancing measures around the world.

They were followed by orders from Bukele to place members of gangs, including the notorious MS-13, in sealed, steel box-like cells and permission to use lethal force against gang members on the streets.

Bukele's latest action follows controversy over his disregard for Supreme Court rulings that he should uphold the constitution and his recent use of the military to intimidate Congress.



Gang members imprisoned at Izalco jail during a 24-hour lockdown.

Credit:
El Salvador Presidency/Handout via Reuters

Jose Miguel Vivanco, the executive director of Human Rights Watch for the Americas, said El Salvador risked sliding into autocracy without reprobation from global powers.

More:
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-04-28/el-salvador-lines-semi-naked-gang-members-grim-prison-photos

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Harrowing photos show prisoners stacked together as punishment for a spate of violence in El Salvador
James Pasley Apr 30, 2020, 1:26 AM

The office of Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, released photos this week showing the brutal conditions hundreds of prisoners have been put in — stripped and stacked together — after several days of violence leading to more than 20 deaths.

The photos were released to try to intimidate or humiliate the captives after intelligence warned the deaths outside prisons had been ordered by imprisoned gang leaders. But human-rights groups fear for the prisoners.

Erika Guevara, Amnesty International's director for the Americas, told Reuters: "We view these photos taken of people deprived of their liberty in the prisons with great concern; they are scenes where people are brought together in prison yards in a humiliating, demeaning manner."

More:
https://www.insider.com/harrowing-photos-show-prisoners-stacked-together-in-el-salvador-2020-4

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El Salvador's jails: Where social distancing is impossible
27 April 2020

More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52386404