El Salvador's Bukele pushes through life sentences in nation that has imprisoned 1% of population

SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador’s Congress approved a constitutional amendment pushed forward by President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday to permit life sentences in a country that has imprisoned more than 1% of its population in its war against gangs

SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador’s Congress approved a constitutional amendment pushed forward by President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday to permit life sentences in a country that has imprisoned more than 1% of its population in its war against gangs.

The reform was presented by Bukele’s security cabinet earlier in the day before El Salvador’s legislature, which is firmly in control of the populist leader’s party.

The measure was approved by 59 of the 60 lawmakers, and is slated to be ratified next week.

It comes as Bukele has pushed forward rounds of constitutional reforms, which have been sharply criticized for chipping away at checks and balances as well as undermining the country’s delicate democracy.

“We will see who supports this reform and who dares to defend the idea that the Constitution should continue prohibiting murderers and rapists from remaining in prison,” Bukele wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.