Juan Carlos

Never in recent Latin American history has a government locked up such a large proportion of its population: almost 2% of all Salvadoran adults are currently behind bars as a result of the war on gangs. For more than two years, President Nayib Bukele has managed to establish a climate of relative peace in a country that had long been plagued by violence. This peace is welcomed by a majority of Salvadorans despite the fact that it is based on authoritarian methods: arbitrary detention and the absence of trials, allegations of torture and suspicious deaths. Juan Carlos’ photographs depict everyday life in a country where peace has been bought at the cost of freedom.