Civil Liberties are increasingly under attack in Latin America. A good example is El Salvador where the country’s young president is rolling back democratic gains. Following a state of emergency purportedly to fight against gangs, the young leader’s regime is cracking down on the media. This article by Jeff Abbott is published by Progressive. Here is an excerpt:

More than a week after the government of El Salvador declared a thirty-day state of emergency to fight “a war against gangs,” the country took another dire step in attacking the rights of the press. 

In the course of just three hours, the Salvadoran legislative branch approved a revision to the legal code to make it illegal to “reproduce and transmit messages from or presumably from gangs that could generate uneasiness or panic in the population.” Violators face up to fifteen years in prison. 

The move has caused concern among Salvadoran journalists. On April 7, the renowned independent Salvadoran media outlet El Faro went dark in protest of the measures. 

Read the full article here.