17,000 people were detained in El Salvador's anti-gang operation, which was deemed a success.

El Salvador's defense minister has applauded Congress for extending emergency measures, which he claims are having a "good" impact in the fight against gang violence.

Since the state of emergency was announced a month ago, more than 17,000 alleged gang members have been arrested, according to René Merino.

Congress extended the plan for another 30 days on Sunday.

It went into effect on March 27th, following the murder of 62 persons in one day.

The emergency measures have sparked debate since they restrict certain constitutional rights, such as permitting security agents to arrest people without a warrant.

The sentences for convicted gang members have also been raised to a maximum of 45 years in jail.

Since the emergency measures were implemented, crimes like portion have decreased, according to Defense Minister Merino.

In a televised announcement, he stated, "The goal is to make these gangs completely disappear from El Salvador."

He went on to remark that "the honest populace is quite satisfied with the work we're doing against the gangs," but he did not mention whether any surveys had been conducted to back up his claim.

The recent wave of mass arrests has sparked outrage among human rights activists.

Thousands of Salvadoreans have been held without an arrest warrant, according to the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and others have claimed being subjected to "cruel, barbaric, or degrading treatment."

Changes to El Salvador's criminal procedure also meant that "criminal trials may now be held in absentia, in the instance of alleged gang members, or presided over by so-called "faceless" judges whose identities remained "secret," according to OHCHR spokesman Liz Throssell.

On Monday, Mr. Merino stated that anyone arrested who was proven to have no gang ties will be released.

"This is going to keep happening: we stop someone, question them, and then discover they have no gang ties, so we let them go."

Mr. Merino stated, "The people need to know that if they don't become engaged in anything bad, nothing bad will happen to them."

Human Rights Watch, on the other hand, has criticized Salvadorean police tweets showing suspects being apprehended, claiming that the government's policy "appears to be 'first arrest, then tweet, then investigate later."

Since Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, the number of homicides has decreased. The 40-year-old ran on a platform of fighting gang violence and political corruption.

El Salvador recorded 1,140 homicides in 2021, down from a peak of 6,656 in 2015.

However, homicides have increased since the beginning of the year, with the 26th of March standing out as the deadliest day in decades.