More than 100 organizations demand that the Attorney General's Office release defenders arbitrarily detained during the El Bosque Cooperative protest
More than one hundred national, international, and solidarity organizations, with a presence in Canada, Europe, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America, signed an open letter addressed to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of El Salvador to demand the immediate release of environmental lawyer Alejandro Henríquez and community leader Ángel Pérez, president of the El Bosque Agricultural Cooperative, who were arbitrarily detained on May 12 and 13, 2025.
In the letter, the organizations condemn the use of security forces to repress the families of the El Bosque community, who were exercising their legitimate right to peaceful protest due to a planned eviction, when they were dispersed by riot police, resulting in the arrest of Ángel Pérez and, subsequently, of lawyer Alejandro Henríquez, who was providing legal advice to the affected families.
Open Letter to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of El Salvador
May 20, 2025
We, the organizations below, demand the immediate release of Alejandro Henríquez, lawyer and environmental activist, member of the Water Forum, and community leader Angel Perez of the El Bosque Cooperative who were arbitrarily detained by the Salvadoran National Police on May 12 and 13, 2025.
We strongly condemn the use of security forces to repress and violate the families of the El Bosque community, who were exercising their legitimate right to peaceful protest against an eviction of 300 families scheduled for May 22. After delivering a letter to the residence of President Nayib Bukele on May 9, asking him to mediate on their behalf, members of the community set up a peaceful picket line on a nearby street to demand a response to their petition.
During their operation to disperse the community from a picket line vigil on the night of May 12, elements of the Order Maintenance Unit (UMO), the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Military Police used violent tactics and arrested Ángel Pérez, president of the cooperative. Lawyer Alejandro Henríquez, who has been providing legal advice to the affected families and mediating between the cooperative leaders and the police, was arrested the following morning at his place of work.
The use of the Military Police to repress the civilian population, which has no competence in matters of citizen security, is serious. Their intervention, under an Emergency Regime supposedly conceived to confront organized crime, constitutes a diversion of functions and a militarization of public security.
We also denounce that the repressive bodies of the State obstructed the work of journalists, preventing them from documenting the arrests and the transfer of the detained persons.
The events occurred in the context of the arrests of leaders of the La Floresta community, who were also organizing against an eviction from their homes, the persecution of lawyers who were advising them, and the arrest of the human rights defender, Fidel Zavala, who was accompanying them in their defense process.
It is of great concern that the repression, intimidation and criminalization of community leaders who organize peacefully to defend their communities against violent eviction processes has become a common practice in El Salvador. Also alarming is the aggressive persecution of lawyers and human rights defenders who provide legal advice and accompaniment to communities facing eviction processes.
Therefore, we echo the demands of the social movement in El Salvador, demanding:
The immediate release of Alejandro Henriquez and Jose Angel Perez, we hold the government of El Salvador responsible for any damage to their physical and psychological integrity.
Respect the suspensión of the eviction order of the famlies of Cooperativa Agrícola El Bosque, begin a review of the legal proccess that led to their eviction, and end the police harrassment the communmity is facing.
End the current wave of land expropriations faced by cooperatives that were beneficiaries from the land reforms of the 1980s.
We demand an end to the permanent suspension of human rights under the “state of exception” policy, and an end to the criminalization of land and water defenders.
Endorsers:
Germany
1. Oficina Ecumenica por la Paz y la Justicia
2. Recherche AG/ Grupo de InvestigAccion (Alemania y México)
3. Ventana Al Sur
Argentina
4. Grupo de Trabajo CLACSO
5. Movimiento Centroamericano 2 de Marzo
Australia
6. Australian Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ACHRP)
Austria
7. Informationsgruppe Lateinamerika (IGLA)
Belgium
8. European Water Movement
Bolivia
9. Fundación Abril
Canada
10. Asociación salvadoreña canadiense de mujeres (ASCADEM)
11. ASCORCAN
12. ASSOCIATION SOS EL SALVADOR
13. Blue Planet Project
14. CDCES Cssa El Salvador Montreal
15. Circulo Bolivariano Luis Riel, Toronto
16. El Independiente Canadian Newspaper
17. Fuerza Ciudadana Canada
18. Nación Salvadoren̈a en el Exterior
19. Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island (US/Canada)
Colombia
20. Pacto Histórico
Costa Rica
21. Asoc.PROAL.JAKUII
22. Centro cultural Casa Javorai
23. Colegio de Profesionales en Sociología de Costa Rica
24. Foro de Educación Religiosa de Costa Rica
25. Fundación Friedrich Ebert
26. Observatorio de Medios de Comunicación y Género GEMA
27. Recuperadores de Crun Shurin
Ecuador
28. Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo S.J." (CSMM)
El Salvador
29. AEPS
30. Asociación Salvadoreña Sindical Independiente de Trabajadores de las Artes y las Culturas
31. Asociación de Desarrollo Económico Social Santa Marta (ADES)
32. Asociación para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Marcelo Rivera AMR
33. Bloque de Resistencia y Rebeldía Popular, BRP
34. Colectiva flor de piedra
35. Colectivo MicelioSuburbano
36. Colectivo Voces Diversas
37. Comunidades de Fe Organizadas en Acción
38. Cooperativa "Nueva Heroica" Santa Marta
39. Generación Romero
40. Iglesia Luterana Salvadoreña
41. Justicia social y contraloría ciudadana
42. Movimiento Universitario de Pensamiento Crítico
43. Radio sumpul
44. Red Salvadoreña de Defensoras
45. Reverdes
46. Servicio Social Pasionista - SSPAS
47. Socorro Jurídico Humanitario
Spain
48. Ecologistas en Acción
49. Paz con Dignidad
United States
50. Alliance for Global Justice
51. Alma de Izote
52. Calan Institute for Transterritorial Justice
53. Cambridge United for Justice with Peace
54. Central American Students Association at Harvard (CASA-H)
55. Centro Latino Cuscatlán
56. Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
57. Colectivo de Solidaridad con El Salvador
58. Colectivo La Chiltota
59. Comité por la Defensa de Los Derechos Humanos y la Tierra
60. Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
61. Global Labor Justice
62. Guatemala Solidarity Project
63. Hope Border Institute
64. Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project
65. InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF)
66. Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
67. Loretto Community Latin America/Caribbean Committee
68. Mass Peace Action Latin America Caribbean Working Group
69. MELA de San Pancho
70. MOVIR-USA
71. NACLA
72. Occupy Bergen County
73. Oil and Gas Action Network (Red de Acción contra el Petróleo)
74. Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace
75. Poder del Pueblo DC
76. Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
77. Provincial Council Clerics of St. Viator
78. Resistencia Comunitaria
79. Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Community
80. Salvadorans for Democracy
81. San Francisco Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
82. Sisters of Mercy - Justice Team
83. Souls Offering Loving and Compassionate Ears (SOLACE San Diego)
84. The Oakland Institute
85. U.S. El Salvador Sister Cities
86. Unite North Metro Denver
France
87. Asociacion France Amérique Latine
Guatemala
88. Colectivo de Derechos Humanos y Organizaciones Sociales Estamos Presentes de Guatemala
89. Convergencia Nacional de Resistencia
90. Coordinadora de Comunidades Afectadas por TRECSA
Mexico
91. Comité en Solidaridad con El Salvador en México
92. Comité Nacional para la Defensa y Conservación de Los Chimalapas
93. Doctors for Global Health-Mexico
94. Espacio Migrante
95. FPDPBOCA
96. Iniciativas para el Desarrollo de la Mujer Oaxaqueña (IDEMO)
97. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
98. Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (IMUMI)
99. La Sandia Digital
100. Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste A.C
101. Movimiento Vecinal Tlalpan
102. Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo
New Zealand
103. Climate Liberation Aotearoa
104. Extinction Rebellion Tāmaki Makaurau
Nicaragua
105. Urnas Abiertas
Noruega
106. LAGs aktivistgrupper i Oslo
Regional
107. Articulación centroamericanista O Istmo (Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)
108. Plataforma de Acuerdos Público Comunitarios
109. Red Centroamericana de Derecho Humanos
110. Red Vigilancia Interamericana para la Defensa y Derecho al Agua
Switzerland
111. Secretariado de Centroamerica
112. Asociación de Solidaridad Nicaragua-El Salvador, Ginebra, Suiza
113. Médico Internacional Suiza
Uruguay
114. PAPC Uruguay
