On May 20, 114 organizations from 21 countries released an open letter to El Salvador’s Attorney General, denouncing the arrests of lawyer and environmentalist Alejandro Henríquez and pastor José Ángel Pérez. Pérez is the president of the El Bosque Cooperative, a group of almost 300 families that has been fighting to maintain ownership of land that has belonged to the cooperative since the 1980s.

The two were arrested in relation to a peaceful May 13 protest by the cooperative and supporters as they called on Nayib Bukele to mediate on their behalf as a May 22 eviction order approached. The organizations called for the immediate release of Hénriquez and Pérez and denounced the repressive state response to the protest. They also called for an end to the State of Exception, which has suspended civil rights since March 2022, and an end to the wave of land expropriation that also resulted in the eviction of the La Floresta community in February. 23 members of the La Floresta community, as well as human rights defender Fidel Zavala, were arrested in the days prior to the eviction. They were setntenced to six months of pretrial imprisonment in March.

Read the full statement here.

Open Letter to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of El Salvador

We, the undersigned organizations, demand the immediate release of lawyer and environmental activist Alejandro Henríquez, member of the Water Forum, and community leader Angel Pérez of the El Bosque Cooperative, who were arbitrarily detained by the El Salvador’s National Civil Police on May 12 and 13, 2025. 

We strongly condemn the use of security forces to repress and commit violence against the families of the El Bosque community, who were exercising their legal right to peacefully protest against an eviction of 300 families scheduled for May 22. After delivering a letter at the residence of President Nayib Bukele on May 9, asking him to mediate on their behalf, members of the community set up a peaceful protest on a nearby street to demand a response to their petition.

Elements of the Order Maintenance Unit (UMO), the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Military Police used violent tactics during their operation to disperse the community’s vigil on the night of May 12 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 is of serious concern, as it has no authority in matters of public security. Its involvement, under a State of Exception supposedly intended to confront organized crime, represents a misuse of its duties and a militarization of public security.

We also denounce that the repressive state forces 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 being evicted 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 deeply alarming 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. Equally concerning is the aggressive persecution of lawyers and human rights defenders who provide legal advice and accompaniment to communities facing eviction.

Therefore, we echo the calls of the social movement in El Salvador, demanding:

● The immediate release of Alejandro Henríquez and Jose Angel Pérez. We hold the government of El Salvador responsible for any harm to their physical and psychological well-being.
● Respect for the suspension of the eviction order of the families of the El Bosque Agricultural Cooperative, review of the legal process that led to the eviction order, and an end to police harassment of the community. 
● End the current wave of land expropriations faced by cooperatives that were beneficiaries from the land reforms of the 1980s.  
● An end to the permanent suspension of human rights under the State of Exception and an end to the criminalization of land and water defenders.  

San Salvador, May 20, 2025

Signing Organizations:

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 Salvadorena 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

Norway
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