They order the police not to make arrests with false files

Arbitrary arrests do not stop under the emergency regime. A few days ago, in the Santa Ana area, a person apparently unrelated to the gangs was arrested, with a profile prepared at the same time as the arrest.

The case resulted in the head of the aforementioned delegation, Commissioner Bartolo Evaristo Padilla, issuing an order to the head of the Investigation Department to “direct and supervise” all investigators in that office, and to refrain from preparing profiles or files containing false data with those in which a person is accused of belonging to a gang.

The written order was issued on 2 April, under Memorandum PNC.SA100.1/00111/JDSA/2024 which literally states that in order to comply with the recommendations made by the Controller, in relation to the complaint submitted by Ms. Berta G., regarding the detention of son Ricardo Ernesto J., employees are directed and supervised so that they can prepare criminal files based on information confirmed through investigations or information contained in the files or monitoring systems existing at the institution, while exercising due care not to harm others or commit acts that constitute misdemeanors or crimes.

“Guidance and supervision of individuals under their command, in the sense that criminal files must be prepared with information previously confirmed by the investigation and/or present in the corresponding files or surveillance systems, which must be as diligent as possible to avoid making mistakes,” from In order not to harm third parties and to avoid committing actions that constitute disciplinary or criminal offences,” the police document states.

Read also: Families of those detained by the regime: “We demand that they appear before them due to the lack of income to pay lawyers’ fees.”

According to various police sources, many people have been arrested by police or military personnel and placed under the command of the Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of collaborating with or belonging to gangs, the only evidence being a fraudulently prepared gang member register.

According to informants, agents usually prepare files on the spot with data obtained from the identity documents of the people they have arrested. The other way is that during patrols they search people, take DUI statements, and when they return to the station or delegation they prepare the file and then return to make arrests.