Amid an ongoing state of exception, the Bukele-controlled legislature held its second emergency session in five days to approve sweeping increases in criminal sentences for gang leaders and underage members alike. Bukele also sponsored legislation to increase prison time for any kind of negotiation with gangs, despite the fact that his administration has been doing just that since its first days in office.

Communications privacy and the right to legal counsel in case of detention, among other civil liberties, will be suspended for 30 days in El Salvador as a government response to the alarming spike of 62 gang-attributed homicides on Saturday. The surge in violence casts further doubt on the efficiency of President Bukele’s security policy, known as “Plan Territorial Control,” already under scrutiny because of revelations of secret gang negotiations.