Families call for individual trials, prison visits and the release of relatives detained under El Salvador’s state of emergency.
A group of Salvadoran mothers gathered outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador to demand the release of relatives detained under the country’s state of emergency, urging authorities to replace mass proceedings with individual trials.
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The women said many detainees are facing lengthy prison sentences despite having no ties to gangs or involvement in the crimes for which they have been accused.
“As we have been victims of the gangs, now we are also being victims of the government,” one of the mothers said, describing what she considers an injustice resulting from detentions carried out under the emergency measure.
The protesters also expressed concern over the grouping of detainees in mass judicial proceedings, saying innocent people are being classified alongside others based on the neighborhoods where they live.
El Salvador: 537 muertos en cárceles bajo régimen de excepción, según ONG
La ONG SJH reporta 537 muertes bajo custodia estatal desde marzo de 2022; 94% sin perfil de pandillero. Denuncian violencia, falta de atención médica y 6.889 violaciones de #DDHH.#teleSUR… pic.twitter.com/P6VKVbkyHV
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) June 18, 2026
Text Reads: El Salvador: 537 Dead in Prisons Under State of Exception, According to NGO The NGO SJH reports 537 deaths in state custody since March 2022; 94% without gang member profile. They denounce violence, lack of medical attention, and 6,889 violations of #HumanRights.
“They are already being grouped together, and that is a concern for each one of us. We do not know what will happen to our innocent relatives who are being held in prisons. Because even if they are not part of a gang, they are being grouped according to the place where they live,” one of the mothers said.
The demonstration also focused on the suspension of family visits to detention centers, which participants described as a right that has been denied during the state of emergency.
“Even if there is a state of emergency, the law does not take away our right, as family members, to see each one of them,” another mother said, arguing that prison visits are a right that benefits both detainees and their relatives.
Among those attending the protest was Gloria Antonio Reyes Ventura, whose son, Marvin Rolando Santos Reyes, was arrested on April 5, 2022, days after the state of emergency came into force. She said he was detained while returning home from work to have breakfast. Since then, she has only been informed that he is being held at Izalco prison, but has been unable to verify his whereabouts because she has not been allowed to see him.
El Salvador has approved another 30-day extension of the state of emergency, marking the 52nd renewal since the measure was introduced. Authorities said the extension aims to eliminate all remaining criminal elements that have been identified.
The mothers said they are prepared to continue speaking out publicly, insisting that their detained relatives are not members of the gangs as the government maintains. The state of emergency has drawn controversy over alleged human rights violations.
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