“They wanted to arrest young people,” Sandra says. “Two of the policemen said it was because they were short of three people in their quota.”

Homicide rates in El Savador had been falling, but in March 2022 an alleged truce between the government and gangs appeared to collapse when gangs reportedly killed 87 people in three days. Bukele responded by declaring a nationwide state of emergency.

What followed was an unprecedented campaign of mass incarceration. An estimated 90,000 people were arrested. About 120,000 people remain incarcerated – roughly 2% of the population, one of the highest rates in the world.

The crackdown has swept up tens of thousands of people with no proven links to criminal gangs, human rights groups say. The so-called state of exception allows the government to detain suspects for prolonged periods while curtailing constitutional rights.

A judge ordered Hernández’s release at a hearing more than three years ago, she says, but instead of being freed, he was transferred to Cecot, El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison, the centrepiece of Bukele’s war on gangs. Sandra has not seen her son since.

Until they handed him over to me in a bag.” When she saw her son’s body, she says he had been “practically tortured”.

Behind the prison walls, former detainees describe a system of malnutrition, physical abuse, degrading conditions and torture.

“The guards tortured us psychologically and beat us constantly. They treat you like a rat, like garbage,” he says.

Detainees were denied medicine, deprived of sunlight, given just one glass of water a day and punished for worshipping

Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that officers faced pressure to meet arrest quotas, with those who fell short risking disciplinary action or losing their jobs

Almost four years into the crackdown, authorities have increasingly resorted to mass trials, trying hundreds of defendants at once by video link.

Defendants are unable to discuss their cases with their lawyers, says Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at HRW, while lawyers are prevented from calling witnesses and witnesses are threatened if they agreed to testify for the defence. “Defence lawyers also operate in a climate of fear, they too are sometimes threatened with being prosecuted or being surveilled,” she says.

“I presented all the evidence to prove my son’s innocence, but they disregarded the case entirely. He was treated like a criminal, despite having a clean record and all his documents in order.”

The state of exception, initially presented as a temporary 30-day measure, has become a permanent fixture of Bukele’s government.

The strongman has won the admiration of the Trump administration and conservative leaders around the world.