SAN SALVADOR, (Reuters) – Salvadoran prisoners collaborating with officials smashed gangster graves with hammers and metal poles in President Nayib Bukele’s latest crackdown on violent gangs, this time aiming to prevent any would-be admirers from paying their respects.
Dozens of graves in La Libertad, west of the capital San Salvador, were left in ruins after being identified by prisoners as belonging to deceased gangsters, some bearing signs linked to the country’s notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13.
“We can’t have a single symbol alluding to the Maras or gang members in any community, neighborhood, or part of this country,” said Osiris Luna, El Salvador’s deputy minister of justice and top prison director, in a video provided by the government.
Luna added that the government decided to destroy the graves so gang members will not receive any recognition, even after death.
After a sharp spike in homicides in March, Bukele launched an unprecedented offensive on the country’s main gangs, using emergency powers granted to him by Congress to suspend constitutional rights for those detained.
The suspension of due process rights since then has prevented most detainees from mounting a legal defense, as well as the right to gather in public in groups larger than two.
Tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been arrested in the dragnet, sparking criticisms from human rights groups alleging innocent civilians have been detained, alongside reports of overcrowding, torture and dozens of deaths in custody.
Rights group International Crisis Group has said the government’s heavy-handed policy could generate a backlash from gang members.
Despite the allegations of human rights violations, Bukele’s anti-gang offensive is supported by a majority of Salvadorans and the president remains one of the most popular leaders in the region.
His government is currently building a massive prison to house some 40,000 inmates.