San Salvador, July 29 (RHC)-- In El Salvador, human rights advocates are warning of severe due process violations after lawmakers approved the use of mass trials for the tens of thousands of people who’ve been arrested under President Nayib Bukele’s brutal crackdown on gangs. 

Salvadoran officials said up to 900 defendants could be prosecuted at one time.  El Salvador has been under a state of exception for 16 months, suspending several constitutional protections and leading to the arbitrary detention of over 70,000 people, without access to legal representation or fair trials.

Meanwhile, Honduras is planning to build an island prison to detain hundreds of suspected gang leaders. This comes after President Xiomara Castro earlier this month approved another extension of a state of emergency that’s been in place since last year to tackle gang violence.