The massive scale of the roundups is comparable to those carried out by the military dictatorships in Central and South America during the 1970s and 1980s.
On September 15, Salvadorean workers and students marched in the national capital to protest the right wing Bukele administration; while unions and social organization in Uruguay held a one day national protest over social conditions.
Tens of thousands of mostly young workers are being detained arbitrarily, processed in mass hearings and forced to sleep on the floor in packed cells with little food. Dozens have reportedly been beaten to death.