Kaine, Cardin to El Salvador President Bukele: Security Need Not Come at the Expense of Democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement on El Salvador’s recent decision to approve another month-long extension of President Nayib Bukele’s national state of exception. Originally developed to address gang violence, the policy violates civil rights, allows for mass arrests without evidence, and gravely undermines the integrity of El Salvador’s judicial system.

“For 32 months, tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been arbitrarily arrested without due process – presumed guilty, crammed into overpopulated prisons, and unaware of the charges against them. Families are cut off from communication with their loved ones. Hundreds of Salvadorans have died in state custody and countless more have endured torture or been disappeared. The Bukele government has pushed a false narrative that security must come at the expense of democracy and basic human rights.

“While El Salvador's homicide rates have dropped during this period, trading gang violence for state-sanctioned violence is not a solution to lasting security. The Bukele administration must restore constitutional order for the Salvadoran people, immediately end its practice of mass trials, grant detainees access to family and legal counsel, and provide reintegration support for those innocent Salvadorans unjustly swept up in this crackdown.”

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