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NGOs launch missing persons portal in El Salvador

A group of NGOs in El Salvador launched an online portal on 22 August to collect information about cases of missing people who have disappeared during the country’s more than two-year crackdown on gangs.

The groups say that one person goes missing per day in the country, citing data from the attorney general’s office.

In March 2022, President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency and began a sweeping campaign to tackle street gangs in El Salvador. Since then, the country has gone from being one of the most violent in Latin America to having the lowest homicide rate in the region.

Human rights groups, however, have criticised Bukele’s methods. More than 81,000 suspected gang members have been rounded up. The mass arrests are often arbitrary and based on individuals’ appearances or where they live, watchdog groups say. Around 7,000 people have been released due to a lack of evidence.

Despite the high number of disappearances, there is no centralised approach to collecting information about the cases to aid in search efforts. The NGOs that created the registry hope that the online platform will “standardise the data and records of these cases”.

Bukele remains highly popular, despite the human rights concerns, and was re-elected in February even though the country’s constitution has a one-term limit for the presidency.

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This is a long shot set in the middle of a park. We see some men with their backs to the camera and facing a wall with their hands on their hands as they are being searched by police.

In El Salvador, peaceful streets carry hidden costs

Many Salvadorans back Bukele’s crackdown on gangs, but rights activists have raised concerns over arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.

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