In recent weeks, El Salvador has experienced a troubling surge in repression targeting non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders, and community leaders. Both national and international voices are raising alarms about a systematic pattern of criminalization that threatens not only democracy but also the dignity and safety of the most vulnerable populations.
An Authoritarian Shift Against Civil Society
Under the government of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has taken an increasingly authoritarian turn. Within this context, civil society organizations that defend human rights, serve the poor, promote social justice, or simply provide humanitarian aid have become targets of institutional attacks and public defamation.
Recent cases are deeply concerning: the arbitrary detention of Ruth Eleonora López, a lawyer and activist with the human rights organization Cristosal; the arrest of attorney and human rights defender Alejandro Henríquez; and the criminalization of evangelical pastor Ángel Pérez, who works with impoverished communities. These actions violate fundamental rights and send a chilling message to the entire civil society sector.
The Foreign Agents Law: A Tool for Silencing
At the heart of this institutional crackdown is the approval of the Foreign Agents Law, which requires all organizations receiving international funding to register as “foreign agents,” imposes a 30% tax on donations, and establishes harsh penalties for non-compliance. Laws like this have been used in other authoritarian regimes—such as Russia and Nicaragua—to shut down NGOs, control the press, and suppress dissent.
Although many NGOs in El Salvador are already legally registered and audited, this new law is widely seen as a deliberate attempt to financially strangle organizations working in defense of human rights and to label those collaborating with international or church-based agencies as enemies of the state.
99 Organizations Raise Their Voice
In response to this worsening situation, 99 social, religious, and humanitarian organizations have issued a joint statement expressing their deep concern over the climate of repression. They denounce the situation with these powerful words:
“The criminalization and repression of non-governmental organizations that work for human rights, justice, and peace is a sign of intolerance toward democratic plurality.”
The signatories emphasize that many of these organizations “accompany impoverished communities, victims of violence, forced displacement, or land dispossession,” and that their only mission is to promote justice and the common good. They warn that government-led stigmatization “puts hundreds of human rights defenders, social workers, and entire communities at risk.”
The statement concludes with a firm call to action:
“We reaffirm our commitment to the Salvadoran people, especially the most excluded communities, and we demand respect for the right to defend rights, for freedom of expression, and for freedom of association.”
A Call to Defend Human Dignity and Solidarity
As people of faith, conscience, and justice, we cannot remain silent. When those who stand with the poor are persecuted, the very heart of the Gospel is under attack—the Gospel that calls us to be on the side of the oppressed, the excluded, the hungry, and the voiceless.
Now more than ever, it is urgent to speak out in defense of all social, Christian, and community-based organizations that—often under difficult circumstances—work to alleviate and reverse the suffering of the poor. Solidarity must not be criminalized. Justice must not be silenced.
To defend the dignity of the poor is to defend the hope of all humanity.
0 Comments