The government says the extraordinary powers are necessary to confront the powerful street gangs that control neighborhoods, extorting and driving people from their homes. Under the state of exception, the time people can be held without seeing a judge was increased to 15 days from 72 hours. Civil rights organizations have argued that the state of exception was never justified, because authorities already had the ability to investigate and make arrests. On Tuesday, Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said that authorities were winning the war against the gangs, but there was more work to do. Bukele’s approval ratings have remained high and the measures have been popular among a population tired of living in constant fear of the gangs.

Source: ABC News June 22, 2022 12:00 UTC