18 people have died in custody.

In March president Nayib Bukele of El Salvador claimed that there was an upsurge of murders caused by gangs, & declared a state of emergency. Erika Guevara Rosas of Amnesty International made this statement:; "The situation in this country is critical. According to official figures, in a little over two months, 36,000 people, including children, who have been detained, mostly arbitrarily, whose deprivation of freedom is illegal, are facing criminal proceedings without the most basic judicial guarantees.”