The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador has given the green light this Thursday to a new extension of the state of exception, reaching the 49th extension of this measure that has been in effect since March 2022 and has led to the arrest of nearly 90,000 people for alleged links to gang activity in the Central American country.
The proposal has been approved again with the support of 57 out of the 60 deputies that make up the chamber, which allows the state of exception to be extended for an additional 30 days starting next Wednesday, April 1.
This new extension comes just as the measure, initially conceived as something temporary, is about to complete four years since it came into effect on March 27, 2022.
The political party of the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, has justified the continuity of the state of exception by arguing that "terrorist groups" still remain active in the country and by highlighting the "success" of a decree that has allowed the capture of more than 91,650 people within the framework of these operations.
With the state of exception in effect, the Salvadoran Executive is empowered to suspend certain freedoms and guarantees, in order to facilitate the deployment of military and police agents in the streets and in those municipalities where homicides are concentrated.