In El Salvador, rising inmate numbers threaten humanitarian crisis: NGO

FILE PHOTO: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks during a news conference in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's war against the country's criminal gangs could generate prison overcrowding and even a violent reaction from criminals, said a report by the NGO International Crisis Group (ICG) released Tuesday.

After a historic rise in homicides in March, Bukele asked Congress to authorize a state of exception, which suspends some constitutional rights, to launch an offensive against criminal gangs that have plagued the Central American country for decades. The measure is supported by the vast majority of the population.