Bukele, emboldened by Trump, is arresting prominent critics
Police officers grabbed the shackled woman by each arm, leading her to the judge who would order her imprisonment.
'You won't silence me!' shouted Ruth López, a Bible in her hands, journalists crowding around her. 'What I want is a public trial! The people deserve to know!'
The arrest of López, a prominent lawyer in El Salvador who helped uncover alleged government corruption, has become emblematic of the increasing authoritarianism of President Nayib Bukele.
A judge on June 4 ordered López jailed pretrial for at least six months on charges of illegal enrichment, accusations her lawyers say are baseless. Days later, a second lawyer critical of Bukele, Enrique Anaya, was detained and accused of money laundering.
Now the lawyers are being held in the same police station, not knowing when — or if — they will be freed.
The arrests are part of an escalating crackdown by Bukele on the last bastion of dissent in a country where he already controls all state institutions, analysts and activists say. López's arrest and a new law targeting nongovernmental organizations have accelerated an exodus of civil society: In recent weeks, dozens of academics, lawyers, researchers, human rights defenders and journalists have fled the country.
Their departures resemble the flights of critics from autocratic regimes in Nicaragua and Venezuela, but with a key difference. This time, the United States isn't condemning the repression — it's deepening ties with its author.
The Trump administration, which is paying Bukele's government to imprison migrants deported from the United States, is praising his leadership and holding him up as a model for the region. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau traveled to El Salvador this week as part of his first foreign trip, the purpose of which was to 'further strengthen diplomatic ties and cooperation.'
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. is 'aware of the recent arrests of these Salvadoran nationals."
'The United States assesses that El Salvador will continue its strong commitment to investigate and prosecute cases involving embezzlement and other crimes against the people of El Salvador,' the spokesperson said.
Bukele, credited with dismantling the country's gangs and dramatically reducing violence in what was once one of the most dangerous nations in Latin America, is widely popular at home and throughout the region. But the self-styled 'world's coolest dictator' has pacified El Salvador in part by detaining more than 85,000 people, often without due process, access to a lawyer or a proper trial — while tightening his grip on the country's Legislative Assembly and courts.
Bukele has long been accused of human rights violations. But the recent arrests and threats, Noah Bullock said, are sending a more explicit, brazen message: 'You dissent and you will be punished.'
'It feels like overnight, El Salvador became an even more repressive regime,' said Bullock, executive director of Cristosal, a human rights organization where López works. 'A person who likes to make jokes about being a dictator is now embracing it.'
Bukele says he's unbothered by critics. 'I don't care if they call me a dictator,' he told Salvadoran lawmakers this month. 'I'd rather be called a dictator than see Salvadorans killed in the streets.'
But with each week, the threats have intensified. Last month, a group of journalists from El Salvador's premier investigative news source fled the country after getting word of possible arrest warrants against them. When journalists from that outlet, El Faro, prepared to reenter the country this week, according to the El Salvador press association, they learned police officers were planning to arrest them at the airport.
When hundreds of people gathered outside Bukele's house last month to protest an eviction order, he arrested a human rights advocate and evangelical pastor who had aided them.
He later accused nongovernmental organizations of 'manipulating' protesters and proposed a 'foreign agents' bill to tax foreign contributions to NGOs at 30 percent. The Salvadoran legislature, controlled by Bukele, approved it.
The European Union condemned the new law, saying it 'risks restricting civil society actors' access to funding, which is essential for their functioning and vital to any healthy democracy.' The bloc also expressed concern over the recent detentions of human rights defenders: 'The shrinking space for civil society risks undermining development and could negatively impact cooperation.'
Bukele responded with insults: 'El Salvador regrets that a bloc which is aging, overregulated, energy-dependent, tech-lagging, and led by unelected bureaucrats still insists on lecturing the rest of the world.'
Many of the researchers and human rights defenders who now feel targeted have previously worked closely with the United States, and some worked on projects that received U.S. aid that is now cut off. Some of those who have fled the country advocated for detainees in the country's expanding prison system, including the Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration to the megaprison known as CECOT. Others documented alleged corruption or human rights violations, and shared their findings at times with U.S. government agencies.
As director of Legal Humanitarian Aid, which advocates for people detained arbitrarily in El Salvador, human rights lawyer Ingrid Escobar is accustomed to being surveilled by the Bukele government. Last week, she learned she was on a list of possible targets for imminent arrest.
She had scheduled an urgent surgery in El Salvador for this week. But days before, she took her children, 11 and 9, and fled the country. If she did not, she feared, she might be detained and denied the medical treatment she needed.
'If I stayed in El Salvador,' she said, 'I could have died.'
Under previous U.S. administrations, one lawyer said, the U.S. Embassy would have been seen as an important partner in advocating for the release of López. 'In El Salvador,' the lawyer said, 'we're alone.' She spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for her family's safety.
López was detained at her home late at night on May 18, summoned outside by police officers who claimed they needed to tell her about a report of a car accident. Instead, they arrested her and accused her of embezzlement. That charge was later changed to illegal enrichment. The attorney general's office said the charges stemmed from her work with a magistrate and former electoral official, Eugenio Chicas, who was arrested in February on charges of illicit enrichment.
Bullock said López's role in that work didn't involve managing money. Her lawyer and Cristosal have said her arrest was retaliation for her work exposing government corruption.
López helped file criminal complaints against officials with the attorney general's office. In one, she alleged that money intended to support families during the covid-19 pandemic was sent to gang leaders. In another, she alleged corruption in the country's prison system. Because of this work, Cristosal fears she will be in danger if she is transferred to a jail under the custody of the prison system director she denounced.
On the day of López's hearing before a judge, Anaya, a constitutional lawyer, defended López and criticized the police who pushed her as she made her way through the crowd. 'They do it to prevent Ruth from speaking to the press, cowards!' he wrote on X. 'I will see the dictator and all his lackeys burn in hell.'
The following day, Bukele targeted those who he said 'spent the entire day publicly threatening anyone who supports or works for the government.'
Some of those critics, he said on X, had 'clear ties to criminals.'
'The days of impunity are over,' he threatened. 'Don't say you weren't warned.'
Anaya was arrested less than two days later. He was placed in a cell next to López's.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Inspired by Trump, more leaders consider sending detainees to Bukele
Following the lead of the Trump administration, at least two Latin American governments are discussing sending detainees to El Salvador's notorious prison system. Weeks after the Trump administration deported hundreds of migrants to El Salvador in March, Ecuadorian officials traveled to the Central American country to visit with the administration of President Nayib Bukele and learn about the Terrorism Confinement Center, the country's megaprison known as CECOT.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Knife-wielding illegal migrant accused of threatening US Attorney on Albany, NY streets
A previously deported illegal migrant with a long rap sheet has been arrested on attempted murder charges in Albany after he pulled out a knife and lunged at the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, according to prosecutors. Saul Morales-Garcia, 40, who is originally from El Salvador, charged at U.S. attorney John Sarcone on Tuesday night while he was outside a hotel, according to prosecutors. Sarcone, who was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi in March, said he feared for his life. The migrant didn't injure Sarcone, who fled into the hotel on Lodge Street and called Sheriff Craig Apple just before 10 p.m. Sarcone said he then went back to the street and called Garcia-Morales in order to stop the migrant from fleeing the scene, believing an innocent person would be killed if he wasn't apprehended. But before law enforcement arrived, Morales-Garcia charged at Sarcone again, screaming and yelling at him in a foreign language while wielding the knife to make a slitting-the-throat gesture, prosecutors said. Sarcone again ran to the lobby of the Hilton where Morales-Garcia stopped, turned and began to walk away but was arrested when sheriff's deputies arrived. Morales-Garcia was taken into custody and the knife was recovered. "I felt an obligation to the public as the chief Federal law enforcement officer in the district that includes the city of Albany," Sarcone said in a statement. "I feared for my life but I couldn't let this individual harm and potentially kill others." Morales-Garcia, who unlawfully reentered the United States in 2021, has been charged with attempted murder, felony weapons possession and menacing, according to court documents. Police said it was a random attack. He was arraigned in Albany City Court and pleaded not guilty. He is currently being held without bail. "Public safety is our highest priority," Sarcone said. "I am relieved that no one was harmed. I appreciated the swift response by the Albany County Sheriff's office, which was within minutes, although it seemed like an eternity." Sarcone said that despite his familiarity with streets, he thinks they are dangerous. "I'm a resident of the city of Albany, and I can't … I don't feel safe to go out for a walk and have a cigar right near the state Capitol," he told Times Union. The sheriff praised Sarcone and said his "selfless actions likely saved lives." Sarcone is responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation in 32 counties in the Northern District of New York. He requested that his office be recused from prosecuting Morales-Garcia for illegally re-entering the United States, which is a felony. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York will now be prosecuting the case. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are also involved in the investigation. Morales-Garcia has a criminal record in at least three other states besides New York, according to the Times Union. Morales-Garcia was convicted in Georgia in 2022 for driving under the influence and driving without a license, and he currently has an active warrant in Forsyth County for failure to appear in court that year. He was arrested in Virginia 2023 by U.S. Park Police on federal property for disorderly conduct while he was charged with retail theft in Philadelphia last year. Fox News Digital reached out to the Albany County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. attorney's office and Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) for comment.
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Los Angeles father speaks out after wife, 9-year-old child detained during immigration appointment
A Los Angeles father is speaking out after his wife and stepdaughter were taken into federal custody in early June during what he says was a routine immigration check-in. "One moment we're laughing, we're together, to now ... I have to adapt to a sudden change," said Roberto Gutierrez. He says that the last two weeks have been filled with confusion and heartache after his family was torn apart on June 4. His wife and nine-year-old daughter, both from El Salvador were seeking asylum in the U.S., but had their request denied. Still, they held out hope that something would change for the better. "We're trying to do it the legal way, so we set up a family petition. So, if we don't check in, it's bad for the whole petition," Gutierrez said. "We had no other choice. ... We could have chosen to not show up, but we didn't want to do it that way." They filed the petition in December 2024 and were told that it could take up to two years to process. Even though they followed every rule, Gutierrez said the two were taken into custody anyway, separating his wife from their 16-month-old baby. "I hear my baby screaming, 'Mama, mama,'" he said. "It's at least three, four times a day." Gutierrez says that both were transferred to a detention center in Texas, more than a thousand miles from home and their daughter. They're only able to connect over phone, while he and the baby, both of whom are U.S. citizens, are left waiting for answers. "There's enough criminals you could deport. People with DUIs, whatever," he said. "But the people trying to do it the right way, just give them a chance." He said that his choice to speak out isn't about politics or paperwork, but about his family. "Every baby needs her mom, and every mom without her baby ... they're going to be suffering," he said. CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a statement on the matter but has not yet heard back.
