El Salvador Police Reveal Quotas and Rumors Behind Mass Arrests in Bukele’s Anti-Gang Drive

Families of those caught in El Salvador’s widespread arrests have long alleged that men were detained based on neighborhood gossip or innocent tattoos.

Now, some police officers involved in President Nayib Bukele’s extensive anti-gang campaign are confirming these claims.

Nearly a dozen officers from El Salvador’s national police have reported facing severe pressure to fulfill arrest quotas, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report and interviews with several officers and a police advocacy leader.

These quotas were introduced following the 2022 declaration of a state of emergency by President Bukele, which remains active, leading to a large-scale campaign of arrests, the officers and report stated.

Bukele’s strategy has led to a dramatic transformation in El Salvador, a small Central American nation long plagued by gang violence. The country rapidly became one of the region’s safest, a success Bukele highlighted during a visit to the White House after incarcerating some deportees from the United States.

However, the officers and police group leader acknowledge that arbitrary arrests and a pervasive fear among police of being accused of gang collaboration if they resisted orders were significant factors behind this shift.