SAN SALVADOR (AP) — El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has released the father of a Salvadoran soccer player after he published a petition on social media calling for his release, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
Marcelo “El Chiqui” Díaz, who plays for the El Salvadoran national team, published a letter on He said he had been unfairly arrested. Diaz appealed directly to Bukele, who has held a firm grip on power since being re-elected in February despite a constitutional ban on re-election.
“On behalf of him, myself, and our entire family, we sincerely ask that this wrong be righted and that my father be able to return home to his daily life, work, and family,” the player wrote. He declared that his father was a man who had never been in trouble with the law.
The arrest of Díaz's father is part of a major gang crackdown in the Central American country, where Bukele's popularity has soared but has also been fueled by accusations of massive human rights abuses.
Following a wave of gang violence two years ago, Bukele announced a “state of emergency” in March 2022, suspending many important constitutional rights and killing nearly 80,000 people, more than 1% of El Salvador's population. The government announced that he had been imprisoned. Being part of a gang.
They are often arrested with little evidence of gang ties and locked up in prisons that have been likened to torture chambers with little due process. In January, Bukele's vice president, Felix Ulloa, told The Associated Press that the government had “made a mistake” in arresting people who had not committed a crime. He said about 7,000 people arrested under the state of emergency have since been released from prison.
Relatives often spend years without seeing their loved ones, but authorities confirmed the father's release on Wednesday, a day after the soccer player posted a letter on social media.
“I thank you all, but most of all I thank God, who is a God of justice,” Diaz wrote on Wednesday's X. “My father is at home. He is well, healthy and receiving adequate treatment. I stand in solidarity with the whole family.”They are also going through a similar situation. ”
Authorities have not issued a statement regarding the release, but the incident appears to be consistent with Bukele's larger strategy of seeking recognition at the international level.
Although he has been heavily criticized by human rights groups and other international leaders, the self-proclaimed “world's coolest dictator” has used social media to appeal to his supporters. Experts and commentators say he is looking to celebrities, sports and entertainment events to change the narrative about his presidency.
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