Death of Bukele's security advisor sheds light on human rights violations in El Salvador

Online News EditorMarch 14, 2024 3 minutes read

San Salvador, Mar 14 (EFE).- Alejandro Muyshondt, former national security advisor to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, died in state custody in early February. Muyshondt’s sister spoke, in an interview with EFE, about the circumstances of his arrest and subsequent death, raising questions about human rights violations in Salvadoran prisons.

“There’s a lot of innocent people being judged with this horrendous process. And it’s not fair. And maybe Alejandro is the famous one who you know about … but a lot is going on here, and he’s not the only one. It’s happening to a lot of families, and it’s destroying a lot of families,” Muyshondt’s sister, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told EFE.

According to figures presented on Feb. 24 by the NGO Socorro Jurídico Humanitario, some 235 inmates have died in El Salvador’s prisons during the country’s state of emergency, with 48% showing signs of violence and 30% dying due to lack of medical care.

Alejandro Muyshondt was arrested on Aug. 9, 2023, after a public confrontation with New Ideas Party congressman Erick García, whom he accused of having ties to drug trafficking. Initially, Muyshondt was accused of revealing secrets and aiding the escape of former President Mauricio Funes (2009-2014). In addition, his sister explained that he was then charged with extortion, a crime covered by the country’s state of emergency passed in 2022 to combat gang violence.

According to Insight Crime’s 2023 report on El Salvador, “the state of emergency has suspended constitutional rights to defense, meaning detainees can be held indefinitely on vague charges, without the need for an arrest warrant or evidence to back up criminal allegations.”

More:
https://www.laprensalatina.com/death-of-bukeles-security-advisor-sheds-light-on-human-rights-violations-in-el-salvador/