In brief
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, families of prisoners in El Salvador’s state of exception held a vigil and rally at the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador. They honored 454 deaths in prisons and pressed authorities for transparent investigations and fair trials for the 90,000+ detainees. Protesters used the Day of the Dead as a framework to mourn remains untranslated and demand accountability.
Relatives of people detained under El Salvador’s state of exception gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, to leave flowers for inmates who have died behind bars and to call for justice for those still held incommunicado.
The protestors, carrying yellow and red flowers, banners and photographs of jailed family members, knelt in prayer around the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero inside the cathedral. On the cathedral steps they held a rally honoring the dead and urging authorities to provide answers about relatives still in custody.
Numerous participants have reported having no contact with their detained relatives since arrest. For example, 61‑year‑old farmer Natalia Funes from Puerto El Triunfo in the eastern province of Usulután came in hopes of finding out the status of her son, Oscar Orlando Rodríguez, who was arrested in July 2022 and has remained incommunicado.
According to Cristostal, a prominent human‑rights organization, 454 deaths have been documented within Salvadoran prisons among people detained under the state of exception, which President Nayib Bukele imposed four years ago and which has led to more than 90,000 detentions.
Liliana Urias, 44, spokesperson for the Mothers for Freedom movement, said some members of the movement have lost a son, a brother or the father of their children.
"We are here in memory of all the innocent people who have died under the state of exception,"
Urias added that the protest used the Day of the Dead, observed on Nov. 1‑2 across several Latin American countries, to remember those who died in custody and to demand fair trials for those who remain jailed.
