26-year-old tractor driver José Duval Mata, from La Noria, El Salvador has had to put up with a Kafkaesque ordeal for over two years. Despite being totally innocent of any criminal charges, he has been ensnared in Cecot prison, one of the toughest in El Salvador, accused of “gang association.”
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A Kafkaesque Ordeal For Jose
Mata’s nightmare started in April of 2022, when the troops rounding up members of street gangs stopped him in his rural village in the middle of the government’s crackdown by President Nayib Bukele. All this was happening during a “State of Exception” which had police and military forces also authorizing the detention of anybody suspected of being a gangster without due process, while suspending most constitutional rights. But Mata was arrested for “illicit association,” a catch-all justification for mass incarceration.
His mother, Marcela Alvarado, took to searching for evidence to absolve him. She found his high school diploma, deeds to land he had managed for their family business, bank records indicating several years without missing a monthly payment on a government loan, and a letter from his employer vouching for his impeccable character. But it was all to no avail. Mata was given a mass trial where he and over 350 other prisoners were convicted within a few minutes; he received six months, the sentence and its extention has been done repeatedly.
A Sham Discharge and Rearrest
A slight break finally arrived for Mata in September 2022 when a judge issued an order to have him released from jail immediately. But, as he waited to be picked up by his relatives, he was promptly rearrested on the very same charges. Noah Bullock, executive director of the human rights NGO Cristosal, says this is a common way in which the State of Exception carries out rearrests at prison gates. Bullock describes such maneuvers as arbitrary and illegal, a clear violation of the prohibition of double jeopardy.
A second judge emphasized that order for Mata’s release. As of today, however, over a year later, Mata is still in chains. The increasingly desperate requests for information from Marcela have been unanswered. The family has finally filed yet another case in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights—on whose account they have found some semblance of justice.
Transfer to Prison of Cecot
Throughout Mata’s imprisonment, Marcela has been taking food packages to the Izalco prison where her son was held for part of his sentence. She would time-punctual visit the prison every week with cornflakes, oats, rice, vegetables, and fresh fruit to supplement her underfed son’s weekly jail diet of half a chicken, a bit of rice, and industrially made half-moon tortillas taken out of plastic bags that she could easily identify blindfolded. But last June, when she approached the prison doors, she was told that weeks before, Mata had been moved to Cecot, the maximum-security prison symbolizing the government’s draconian policy against gangs.
Cecot, or the Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism, has a bad reputation. Bukele said many times that the inmates in that place would never see the sun and would live on meager rations of rice and cold tortillas. Pictures of heavily tattooed, shaven-headed inmates being transferred to the facility have been put out by the government—reinforcing the prison’s reputation as a black hole for human rights.
Backing for Bukele Crackdown
Bukele most enjoys widespread approval for his war on gunmen despite the dire conditions and the vast number of reports of wrongful detentions. His campaign re-established government control in places formerly ruled by gang activity and brought newfound security to communities that once lived in fear. This public support is reflected in the case of Bukele’s win in February with a vote of around 90%.
When asked about cases like Mata’s at a news conference, Bukele defended his administration’s actions, arguing that the crackdown had restored tranquillity to the streets. Although he acknowledged that errors had been committed — among them, detaining innocent people — he also said that around 7,000 people had been released. Mata was not among them.
A Mother’s Last Hope
After the news conference, Bukele’s team asked the release orders for Mata from the judges, and the BBC had provided the information. Despite Vic-President Félix Ulloa’s assurance, Mata was released, but to this day, over a year since then, he is still being held in Cecot. Over two years have passed since then, Marcela has neither received evidence of her son’s life nor received the formal confirmation of his condition, and she is afraid of entertaining the worst.
On a small plot in La Noria, Marcela still holds out hope that her son is alive and will someday be freed. She says she thinks of him constantly behind bars and often wonders if maybe he died in prison, but she is a great Catholic and takes full support from her faith. “I am placing my trust in God. It’s all I can do,” she said. She clings to the faith that one day her son’s nightmare will come to an end.
