The Latest Breaking News from El Salvador

War on gangs by populist leader Nayib Bukele has produced extraordinary change, but ‘the cure could be as harmful as the disease’

El Salvador’s congress approved President Nayib Bukele’s request to extend the period of special powers for another month, meaning the country will go at least a full year with some fundamental rights suspended in fight against gangs

El Salvador's state of emergency to combat gangs, which has widespread public support despite a growing prison population and allegations of human rights abuses, will be maintained until all criminals are captured, the country's security minister told Reuters.

“I’m not going to apologize for defending myself,” says the California Democrat, who got threats after tangling with El Salvador’s president.

His comments are important, because democracy in Latin America is in retreat. The president of El Salvador has announced he will defy constitutional term limits and run again for president next year.

When El Salvador began making mass arrests of people with suspected gang affiliations last year, President Nayib Bukele ordered the construction of what would be the largest prison in Latin America

Authorities in El Salvador have opened one of Latin America's largest prisons, more than doubling the country's incarceration capacity, as a government crackdown on criminal gangs is causing the prison population to soar.

Nearly two years after declaring war on his nation’s violent gangs, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has seen his nation’s murder rate drop, his popularity soar and thousands of gang members put behind bars. Even pizza delivery has resumed in some once forbidden neighborhoods.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Salvadoran authorities on Friday of "mass due process violations" in the detention of tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of children, in over-crowded prisons, citing leaked government data.

It comes after a story of obscurity in El Salvador and Guatemala before ending up in Honduras with CD Vida.

Street gangs from Central America are expanding their organized crime activities in southern Mexico