El Salvador: News & Updates

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.

On July 28, 1982, three people were illegally captured and violently disappeared by Salvadoran military and state security agents: Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a US and Salvadoran citizen; her father Mauricio Cuéllar Cuéllar; and Julia Orbelina Pérez, a domestic worker in the Cuéllars’ home. On May 16, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the state of El Salvador responsible for the forced disappearances of Patricia, Mauricio, and Julia Orbelina.

The IACHR ruling marks a crucial milestone on the road to justice in forced disappearance cases during the civil war. Nevertheless, the Salvadoran state’s policy of impunity persists as Bukele’s regime denies civil war history, refuses a transitional justice law for the victims, and blocks investigations into war crimes by the military. The United States is also guilty of contributing to this culture of impunity. The US government, which played a role in and condoned the atrocities committed during the military dictatorship, is withholding crucial information that could offer additional insight into the case.

On June 1, Salvadorans in six countries and five U.S. cities protested the inauguration of Nayib Bukele for a second term, declaring his presidency unconstitutional and illegitimate due to the Salvadoran constitution's prohibition of consecutive terms. Bukele's February 4 win, claimed as historic, only garnered 43% of eligible voters.

Protesters, alongside faith and solidarity organizations, condemned Bukele's State of Exception, citing abuses like 80,000 warrantless arrests and over 300 deaths in state custody. On May 30 and 31, leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador were arrested preemptively.

Speakers at the Washington, DC rally highlighted the repression reminiscent of the civil war era, with Consuelo Gomez and Ana Sol Gutierrez urging international rejection of Bukele's government. They criticized his policies for increasing poverty and displacement, with recent data showing over 67% of working Salvadorans earn less than $400 monthly. COPPPAL called for a suspension of military and financial support to Bukele’s regime.

In 2021, the Biden administration declined a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, concerned that it would bolster his power. However, by June 1, 2024, the U.S. had reversed its stance, with high-level officials attending Bukele's second-term inauguration. This shift highlights a change in U.S. priorities, focusing on immigration over earlier criticisms of Bukele’s strong-arm tactics.

Bukele, popular at home for reducing gang violence, has faced criticism for his authoritarian methods, including a state of emergency leading to mass arrests. Despite previous U.S. sanctions on Bukele's aides for corruption, the U.S. now recognizes his efforts in curbing migration. The delegation included Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who discussed migration and security with Bukele. Critics, however, warn of the risks in supporting an authoritarian regime.

Bukele, praised by conservatives for his unconventional approach, vowed to focus on economic strengthening while maintaining his independent stance. The U.S.'s renewed engagement reflects the complex balance between addressing immediate immigration issues and upholding democratic norms.