El Salvadoran lawmakers Sunday declared a state of emergency, the president of the Legislative Assembly said, curtailing civil liberties and expanding police power as the country faces a wave of gang-related bloodshed that has left dozens dead in just two days.
Gang violence has soared in El Salvador, with police reporting that 62 people were killed on Saturday alone.
According to official figures, 12 of the killings took place in the central department of La Libertad, with the capital San Salvador and the western department of Ahuachapan recording nine each. The rest were distributed across the country’s remaining departments.
Hours earlier, police and the military arrested several leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang over the spate of killings.
“We will not back down in this war against gangs, we will not rest until the criminals responsible for these acts are captured and brought to justice,” the country’s National Civil Police posted on Twitter.
In response to…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
