The high cost of El Salvador’s war on gangs: New report finds corruption, civilian abuse

When President Nayib Bukele announced a sweeping “state of exception” in El Salvador in March 2022, he promised an end to the country’s long-standing nightmare: the grip of brutal street gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18.

His bold crackdown, backed by iron-fisted rhetoric and slick social media campaigns, won him global headlines and soaring domestic approval. Three years later, the country boasts one of the lowest homicide rates in the hemisphere. On paper, Bukele’s security strategy appears a resounding success.

But beneath the surface of order and victory lies a much darker and increasingly undeniable reality: El Salvador’s new era of security has been built on mass incarceration, systemic corruption, and egregious human rights violations.

A new report by Cristosal, a respected Salvador