Inmates are pictured during a visit of Costa Rica's President Laura Fernandez at the CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Marvin RECINOS / AFP)
San Salvador: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has clarified that potential early releases under his ongoing anti-gang crackdown will only apply to roughly 10,000 alleged collaborators, and not the actual gang members.
Bukele on Tuesday unveiled a plan for early releases that he said "that would benefit more or less 50 percent of prisoners in El Salvador who collaborated with gangs."
More than 90,000 suspected gang members have been arrested in the Central American country since Bukele declared a state of emergency in 2022.
But in response to an AFP request for clarification, Bukele said Friday the early release plan would cover roughly 10,000 people identified as occasional gang associates, but who did not formally belong to gangs.
"We are going to review the cases of those 10,000 or so people, and based on a preliminary review, we believe about 50 percent could enter the 'Zero Idleness' program so they can get out sooner," he said.
"No gang member is going to be freed. Ever," Bukele said at a press conference alongside Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez, who was visiting El Salvador.
