El Salvador: News & Updates

In El Salvador, there’s a small island known as Isla El Espíritu Santo, or the "Coconut Island." The island's small population relies on coconut crops and lives relatively isolated from the mainland. Two years ago, President Nayib Bukele's State of Exception began to target the islanders through arbitrary arrests.

Goals of Release the Innocents Campaign:

(1) Release the Innocents, (2) Allow Families to See Their Loved Ones in Prison, (3) Restore Due Process and Presumption of Innocence, (4) Reach Congressional audiences

Between May 13, 2022 and April 28, 2023, 25 islanders were arrested without a proper warrant and accused of criminal activities, even though the island has not historically experienced gang violence. Here are profiles of four of the victims of President Bukele’s crackdown on crime:

Cristian Donely Ruiz Pineda. age 44. shoemaker, fisherman, and builder. married with two daughters and a grandson. arbitrarily arrested in his home around 8:30 p.m. on July 3, 2022. 

José Samuel Pérez Perdomo. age 60. a dedicated boat driver for CIS high school and university scholarship students since 2011. arbitrarily arrested on May 13, 2022; has been moved to the prison medical center in Izalco, suffering from mental and physical illnesses

Fabricio Isaac Fuentes López. age 24. arbitrarily arrested on July 18, 2022, despite Fabricio’s protests and clean record.

Eidi Roxana Claros de Zaldaña. age 44. a rival taxi group accused Sandra, a taxi owner, of collaborating with gangs. arbitrarily arrested on April  28, 2023; Eidi was arrested after intervening on Sandra’s behalf. Fortunately, Sandra was released, but Eidi remains in prison.

TAKE ACTION

-See the social media toolkit to tag top officials in El Salvador

-Become informed with recent articles and posts

-Stay tuned for alerts to urge your congressperson to sign the Dear Colleague letter

-Attend the Summer Solidarity Social on August 9 in Cleveland, Ohio, with guest speaker Leslie Schuld from the CIS in El Salvador

The United States has long been a destination of migrants from around the world seeking safety and new opportunities. The image of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty welcoming “the poor huddled masses” is ingrained in our collective memory and culture.

Yes, there are many coming to our southern border seeking safety. Many of those come from countries whose people have been negatively impacted by US economic and military policies. They come here because we went there.

While the US was the world’s largest recipient of new asylum applications in 2023 (1.2 million), it is desperately trying to deter migrants from seeking refuge here. On June 4, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new plans to “secure our border.” It bars migrants from even asking for asylum. The unwelcoming attitude that the US presents toward migrants is illustrated not only by Biden’s recent asylum ban and the monthly increase in US migrant detention, now standing at 38,525.

In IRTF’s July 2024 Migrant Justice newsletter, please read about (1)   Asylum Processing at the US-Mexico Border, (2) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3)  Migrants in Colombia: Between Government Absence and Criminal Control, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Honduras plans to build a 20,000-capacity ‘megaprison’ for gang members as part of a crackdown, (6) Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence, (7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human Rights Abuses and the Need for Humane Pathways to Safety, (8) America Turned Against Migrant Detention Before. We Can Do It Again, (9)  Asylum claims are down over 40% in Mexico, and (10) UN Refugee Agency Global Trends Report 2023.

Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)

A) Act Now for welcoming, dignified and just immigration policies

B) Root Causes: Stop Deportation Flights to Haiti

C) Root Causes: Restore Asylum for LGBTQ+ Refugees in Danger

D) Think Globally. Act Locally: Help Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland

Read the full newsletter at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog/migrant-justice-newsletter-jul-2024

El Salvador’s state of emergency, declared in March 2022, has led to severe human rights violations against children of low-income communities. Many children have been doubly victimized by gang members who abused them and then by security forces who detained and mistreated them, with possible lifelong consequences. The government should end its abusive approach and prioritize a rights-respecting policy that dismantles criminal gangs, addresses child recruitment, and provides children with protection and opportunities.

In a 107-page report released on July 16, 2024, Human Rights Watch documents arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment against children under President Nayib Bukele’s “war on gangs.” Detained children have often faced overcrowding, lack of adequate food and health care, and have been denied access to their lawyers and family members. In some cases, children have been held, in the first days after arrest, alongside adults. Many have been convicted on overly broad charges and in unfair trials that deny due process.

Click here for a link to the full report.

Salvadoran President Bukele has reduced the percent of tax funds going to community improvement projects from ten to one percent. To counter the centralization of power in El Salvador, community leaders of COFOA (Comunidades de Fé Organizadas para la Acción) are developing strategies to unite communities across municipalities, departments and the entire country to demand transparency and fair share distribution of government funds meant for community development.

For example, 80 community leaders from San Salvador Sur, delivered a letter to their Mayor Mario Vásquez requesting a meeting with him and his council to discuss the lack of investment in needed improvements in their communities.

Vanessa Acosta turned her lights came on for the first time on June 7.  “This changed my life completely,” she said. “Now my kids can do their homework, I can charge my phone, and I store food so my family can eat." As an act of gratitude, this community of Sitio Viejo held a religious celebration the next day.

Click here to read more about COFOA’s work in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

El Salvador has been under a state of exception since March 2022. As a response to combat the country’s powerful street gangs, this “temporary measure” suspended constitutional rights, such as the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial. Cristosal presents its findings of our two-year investigation on the impact. The effects of these punitive policies have had a ripple effect throughout Salvadoran society, which is disproportionately felt by women.  Drawing from 3,643 reports from victims and their families, Cristosal has found deplorable detention conditions, lack of medical care, and cases of torture.  With mass detention and the deaths of at least 265 people in custody (including four infants), “the justice system has failed and is complicit in the systematic violation of the human rights of the Salvadoran people.”

Click here to read the press release from Cristosal.

In IRTF’s June 2024 newsletter on Migrant Justice, please read about (1)  President Biden Announces New Actions to Secure the Border; Critics point to its illegality, (2)  ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3) Child Migration in Darien Gap, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Mind the Darién Gap, Migration Bottleneck of the Americas, (6)  Immigration Court: unjust denials call for structural realignment, not further restrictions, and (7) Immigration is the demographic savior too many refuse to acknowledge.

Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of the newsletter.)

A) Support LGBTQ+ Migrants

B) Oppose Border Closures

C) Support Migrants in Detention

D) Root Causes: Cut US Militarism in Latin America

Read the full IRTF Migrant Justice Newsletter each month at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog

On June 1, Nayib Bukele began his second presidential term in El Salvador, despite the constitutional ban on consecutive re-election, and has reformed the electoral system to consolidate his power. While Bukele's populist security policies against gangs are popular, his administration has undermined democratic institutions and human rights. For his second term, Bukele aims to improve the economy and shift from gang wars to fighting corruption.

On July 28, 1982, Salvadoran military and state security agents illegally captured and violently disappeared Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a dual US and Salvadoran citizen, her father Mauricio Cuéllar, and their household worker Julia Orbelina Pérez. Patricia, who would have been the author’s aunt, was a human rights defender involved in Catholic youth movements and grassroots organizations. Despite a lengthy pursuit of justice, their families have not received answers about their whereabouts.

After four decades, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) declared the Salvadoran state responsible for their forced disappearances in 2024. This ruling marks a significant step toward justice for forced disappearance cases from the Salvadoran civil war, but impunity remains under President Nayib Bukele, who denies the history of the war and blocks investigations into military crimes. The US government, which supported the Salvadoran military dictatorship, also bears responsibility for withholding crucial information that could provide insight into these cases.