The thing is, they're arresting people who aren't actually in gangs too.

I've been following this because my folks are from El Salvador, we've been speaking about a cousin who was arrested months ago and has still not been released. His crime was selling juice from his stand to gang members, which makes him gang-affiliated according to the police. We don't expect the charges to hold, as the accuser must show up to testify and so far the cops haven't been able to locate him. False accusations also carry some hefty punishments. Still, pretty fucked situation.

This is all anecdotal of course, and I understand that extreme measures must be taken to fight back against the extreme crimes committed by the gangs.

I'm just saying dismissive comments like this don't capture the totality of the situation.