The president declared a state of emergency eight months ago to take on gang violence, and arrests soared. Close to 100,000 people are behind bars as of November, more than triple the prison system’s capacity.

SOYAPANGO, El Salvador — The soldiers arrived at dawn, shutting down an entire municipality in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, stopping cars, forcing passengers off buses and ordering men to lift their shirts and show that they didn’t have gang tattoos.

For many in this once gang-infested community the show of force was welcome.

“Before, it was the gangsters that were in charge,” said María, a shop owner who asked that her last name not be published for her safety. “Now, there are almost no gang members.’’

When an eruption of gang violence in March left more than 60 people dead during the country’s single bloodiest day since El Salvador’s civil war 30 years ago, the government of President Nayib Bukele moved quickly to declare a state of emergency, suspending key constitutional rights.

The measure was supposed to be temporary, a means to quickly restore public order and give the government greater latitude to impose a nationwide crackdown on organized crime groups, like the brutal MS-13 gang, that had long terrorized this Central American nation. 

But more than eight months later, the emergency decree is still in place, the military patrols the streets, mass arrests are a daily occurrence and jails are filled to the brim, edging El Salvador toward what is effectively a police state.