El Salvador’s Congress has approved a law allowing minors convicted of serious gang-related crimes to be housed in adult prisons, though in separate areas. The move is part of President Nayib Bukele’s ongoing crackdown on organized crime.
The new law applies to children under 18 who are gang members convicted of major crimes, including:
✔ Homicide
✔ Kidnapping
✔ Arms trafficking
📢 "This will prevent them from receiving the same criminal treatment as those who have committed less serious crimes," Congress said in a statement.
Why It Matters
Since 2022, Bukele’s government has implemented a state of emergency, suspending constitutional rights and introducing mass trials. His administration has also built a mega-prison to house thousands of detainees.
Rights groups allege that prisoners, including minors, have been tortured, though the government denies these claims.
Meanwhile, the United States is assessing a plan to send U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to Salvadoran prisons.
By the Numbers
📊 Official figures on detained minors remain scarce, but:
1,065 minors were convicted under El Salvador’s state of emergency (as of February 2023).
More than 3,300 children were detained between March 2022 and December 2023, according to Human Rights Watch.
Before the crackdown, the annual average for minors in juvenile detention centers was 805 (2018-2021).
What’s Next?
El Salvador’s hardline security policies continue to draw international scrutiny, with human rights concerns clashing against the government’s claim of restoring order.
European shares dropped on Friday after President Donald Trump intensified tariff threats against the EU, casting doubt on trade talks and dampening i...
China’s exports are expected to have grown 5% in June as manufacturers hurried goods abroad ahead of a 12 August deadline that could see the U.S. re...
U.S. special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is set to arrive in Kyiv on Monday for a week-long visit, Ukrainian outlet Novyny.LIVE reported on Frid...
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport and Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Works have reached an agreement on the construction of a new railway line to c...
Two of China’s biggest electric-vehicle makers may have to return a combined 373 million yuan (about $53 million) in state aid after a government au...
European shares dropped on Friday after President Donald Trump intensified tariff threats against the EU, casting doubt on trade talks and dampening investor confidence.
China’s exports are expected to have grown 5% in June as manufacturers hurried goods abroad ahead of a 12 August deadline that could see the U.S. restore punitive tariffs, a Reuters survey of economists indicates.
U.S. special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is set to arrive in Kyiv on Monday for a week-long visit, Ukrainian outlet Novyny.LIVE reported on Friday.
Two of China’s biggest electric-vehicle makers may have to return a combined 373 million yuan (about $53 million) in state aid after a government audit said nearly 22,000 cars sold up to 2020 should never have qualified for clean-energy incentives.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
A deadly mass shooting early on Monday (7 July) in Philadelphia's Grays Ferry neighbourhood left three men dead and nine others wounded, including teenagers, as more than 100 shots were fired.
The 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was successfully held in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, highlighting the region’s revival and the deepening economic cooperation among member states.
Dozens of international and domestic flights were cancelled or delayed after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted on Monday, but Bali’s main airport remains operational.
Washington and Ottawa are once again at odds, as President Trump unveils a sharp new tariff on Canadian goods—citing drug trafficking and trade disputes just weeks ahead of a key deadline.
France recorded over 100 drowning deaths in just one month — a 58% rise from last year — as unusually high temperatures drove more people to water, public health officials say.
Migration offset natural decline for the fourth consecutive year, pushing the European Union’s population to an historic high of 450.4 million in 2024, according to Eurostat figures released on Friday.
Germany’s public debt is projected to climb from 62.5% to 74% of GDP by 2030, driven by record defence and infrastructure spending, according to a report by the European rating agency Scope.
The global oil market may be tighter than headline supply-demand figures suggest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday, citing rising refinery activity and seasonal summer demand as key drivers of short-term market pressure.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment