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The 'Judicial Black Hole' of El Salvador's Prisons Is a Warning for Americans

Donald Trump is cementing a partnership with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, whose assault on civil rights is being mirrored in the U.S.

Ruth López, a renowned Salvadoran human rights lawyer who works as a chief legal officer at Cristosal, says the organization has been contacted by roughly 70 relatives and families of individuals caught in the deportation stunt, including “migrants without a prior criminal record, people who were detained on the street or upon entering the United States, others who had previously applied through the CPB One app or had existing formal asylum processes.” The biggest challenge, Bullock explains, is helping the families of those who are detained or missing navigate a system in El Salvador that is increasingly serving the interests of the president rather than the people — a pattern he says mirrors the changes rapidly taking place in the United States. In October, just weeks before the election, Trump drew widespread backlash after repeatedly stating that he intended to squash the threat of the “enemy from within.” One of his first actions upon assuming office in January was to sign an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border, and he’s since used this imaginary war against immigrants as a predicate for a fascist crackdown — one many Americans never thought they’d see.

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