El Salvador lawmakers repeal media crackdown, declare 'war on gangs won'

[Judi Lynn]

Story by By Gerardo Arbaiza •
3h

By Gerardo Arbaiza

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's Congress repealed a law on Wednesday that criminalized the publication of gang messages, as ruling party leaders declared victory in their war against criminal groups.

President Nayib Bukele launched a sweeping crackdown on the small Central American nation's hyper-violent gangs early last year, sharply reducing crime rates while the incarceration skyrocketed, and is now the highest in the world.

Lawmakers passed the reform to target anyone who spread or otherwise reproduced graffiti "or any form of visual expression" attributed to gangs, including Mara Salvatrucha and its rival Barrio 18.

The law's critics argued it unjustly targeted journalists, who often source stories based on images showing graphic violence, including messages left by alleged gang members, or even interviews, graffiti and audios shared on social media.

The senior legislator from Bukele's New Ideas party behind the original measure, Christian Guevara, was added to a U.S. blacklist for "corrupt and undemocratic actors" - commonly known as the "Engel List" - for promoting the law.

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https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/el-salvador-lawmakers-repeal-media-crackdown-declare-war-on-gangs-won/ar-AA1jfnpe