El Salvador has arrested 3,319 minors and sentenced almost 600 as part of anti-gang crackdown

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A rights report says the government of El Salvador has arrested 3,319 underage suspects and sentenced 579 during the harsh 2 1/2 year-old crackdown on street gangs. The report issued Tuesday by Human Rights Watch says the minors have been held in “inhumane conditions,” and sometimes in the same facilities with adults. The reports said authorities have done little to ensure food, health care and family contact, or protect them from beatings or sexual assault in prison. Under President Nayib Bukele’s emergency decrees, police and soldiers have rounded up a total of 81,110 people, sometimes based on their appearance or the neighborhood they live in.