We’re pleased to report that authorities in El Salvador have arrested the alleged killer, Ruth Eleonora López. She is the director of the Cristosal Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Unit. Her detention marks a significant escalation in the government’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, particularly against those who criticize President Nayib Bukele’s administration. Further, López was recently recognized by the BBC as one of their 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2024. She has been a lone voice for justice and against the government’s lack of transparency and its human rights abuses.
López’s arrest is a symptom of a much more troubling trend. Activists similarly find themselves indefinitely imprisoned without competent legal counsel as they face restricted access to their families. In the year and a half since Bukele imposed a nationwide state of emergency, authorities have arrested close to 87,000 people throughout the country. This unprecedented crackdown represents more than 1% of El Salvador’s population. This new state of emergency allows the government to suspend constitutional rights, such as the right to a state-provided legal defense.
López was an adviser to Eugenio Chicas from 2009 to 2014. Chicas is the former president of Supreme Electoral Tribunal. She has led the charge against the state’s misdirected abuses under the guise of crime-fighting. On top of that, she takes aim at the increasing levels of public debt and the feds controversial Bitcoin investments, which there’s no clear reporting on.
The Attorney General’s Office has charged López with conspiring to steal millions of dollars from state funds. Most readers view this baseless claim as an effort to intimidate and suppress her activism. Cristosal has referred to her arrest as a “short-term forced disappearance.” They have even been denied access to information about her location since the day she was arrested.
Abraham Ábrego, the director of Strategic Litigation at Cristosal, expressed his concerns for López’s safety. He underscored the implications of her arrest for human rights throughout the country.
“This sends a message that the government is willing to repress, to violate human rights – and at this point, it’s barely trying to hide it. It’s practically admitting it.” – Abraham Ábrego, director of Strategic Litigation at Cristosal.
This move comes as the federal government faces mounting criticism over its reaction to rising crime and gang violence. This has been a problematic concern for El Salvador over the years. This unchallenged narrative is refuted by critics who say Bukele’s administration has not been shy about implementing authoritarian practices that erode democratic discourse and human rights.
López’s arrest continues a growing trend in which activists are subjected to pretrial detention without established legal process or ability to appeal. The implications extend beyond López’s case, providing a troubled outlook for anyone who has the audacity to speak out against regressive government practices. The opacity with which these arrests have been conducted adds to the fear of state-sanctioned repression already present in El Salvador.
Eugenio Chicas, López’s former private secretary, is now embroiled in criminal proceedings after his arrest last February for suspected illicit enrichment. Against this backdrop, dark clouds are gathering on the horizon. Authorities are unapologetically rounding up anyone associated with prior governments or who criticize current government actions.
