On June 7, a delegation from Socorro Jurídico Humanitario (Humanitarian Legal Aid), which represents and advocates for the tens of thousands of innocent people currently imprisoned under El Salvador’s State of Exception, held a press conference in Washington, D.C. to close out their visit to the U.S. While in Washington, DC and New York, attorneys and advocates from the legal aid group, accompanied by representatives of the Center for Exchange and Solidarity (CIS) met with U.S. government representatives, international human rights institutions, and Salvadoran community groups to shed light on the truth behind Nayib Bukele’s “war on gangs.”

During the press conference, representatives of Socorro Juridico highlighted many dangers of the ongoing State of Exception, an “emergency measure” the government imposed in March 2022 and has illegally maintained for over two years. Speaking to local Spanish-language press, and live-streaming in El Salvador, they highlighted how broadly the policy has impacted the Salvadoran population, including the diaspora. Socorro Juridico’s director, Ingrid Escobar, stated that they were aware of at least three Salvadorans who are U.S. citizens who have been unjustly detained, though the total number is unknown, due to lack of information made available by the Salvadoran government.

In November 2023, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) along with fourteen fellow members of the House of Representatives, sent a letter to the State Department inquiring as to how many U.S. citizens and permanent residents have been detained and whether U.S. Embassy personnel had access to them. Though the State Department has not published this information, a travel advisory that has been in place since July 2023 notes that “several U.S. and other foreign citizens have been detained under the State of Exception, some in a reportedly arbitrary manner.”

Socorro Juridico estimates that among the 80,000 people who have been arrested without warrants since the State of Exception took effect, at least 26,000 have no criminal involvement, but with due process rights suspended across the board, it has been extremely difficult to get them out of jail. Following an initial hearing before an anonymous judge, itself a violation of the American Human Rights Convention, people are stuck in prison for an indefinite period of “pre-trial detention,” during which they are unable to speak with their family members or attorneys. This also violates international standards, which, Socorro Juridico explained, “require the State of El Salvador to allow prisoners, even under a State of Exception, visits from lawyers and family members.”

The risk to those who remain in the prisons is alarming. Socorro Jurídico has identified 302 deaths in state custody since March 2022, though the total number of deaths is believed to be much higher. In half of those confirmed deaths, there were signs of violence or even torture. Another 33% died due to medical neglect.

“This is the nightmare that many within the large Salvadoran population here in the U.S. who have a family member or loved one arrested without cause are living,” added Alexis Stoumbelis, Organizational Director of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, who joined the press conference.

She also highlighted the risks to “lawyers and human rights defenders who are brave enough to denounce what is happening to the media.” In April, several human rights organizations in El Salvador, including Socorro Juridico, went public with reports of harassment and profiling. In response, over 80 organizations from 14 countries signed a letter denouncing the Salvadoran government’s attacks on human rights defenders, calling on the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to grant them protective measures, and urging the U.S. government to halt security assistance to El Salvador.

The latest attack is on nine leaders of the popular social movement group Alianza Nacional El Salvador en Paz (Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador) who were arrested on the eve of Bukele’s unconstitutional inauguration on June 1. Of the nine, many are in a fragile state of health and the conditions in El Salvador’s overcrowded prisons represent a significant threat to their lives.