SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Several nongovernmental organizations on Wednesday launched a registry of disappeared persons in El Salvador, a tool meant to help families with relatives who disappeared during the country's extended state of emergency that was declared to battle street gangs.
Under the state of emergency, originally declared in 2022 and still in effect, the government of President Nayib Bukele has rounded up more than 81,000 suspected gang members in sweeps that rights groups say are often arbitrary and based on a person's appearance or where they live.
Authorities have had to release about 7,000 people because of a lack of evidence.
While the government is accused of committing mass human rights abuses in the crackdown, Bukele remains highly popular in El Salvador because homicide rates sharply dropped following the detentions. The Central American nation went from being one of the most dangerous countries in the world to having the lowest homicide rate in the region.
Bukele rode that popularity to reelection in February, despite the country's constitution prohibiting second terms for presidents.
Last month, a human rights organization said that at least 261 people have died in prisons in El Salvador during the 2 1/2-year-old crackdown on street gangs.
Among the eight NGOs supporting the registry is the Institute of Human Rights of the Catholic University of José Simeón Cañas. The organization said it hopes the registry will compile data to support the creation of policy and prevention programs, treatment and mitigation of social issues, and assist in the search for victims of forced disappearances.
Family members of the disappeared persons can fill out a registry online with their relative's details, creating a unique record that will help in the search for the missing family members.
