After nearly three years in pre-trial detention, former Minister of Public Security and Justice Mauricio Landaverde and former Inspector General of Prisons Ramón Roque are free.

Washington, D.C. – On October 25, the Fifth Circuit Sentencing Tribunal of San Salvador ruled that former Minister of Public Security and Justice Mauricio Landaverde, former Inspector General of Prisons Ramón Roque and 17 other former government officials and employees are innocent of all embezzlement, bribery, and misrepresentation charges brought against them by the Attorney General’s office.

Landaverde and Roque were held in pre-trial detention for nearly three years, exceeding the legal limit, after the state ignored multiple judicial orders for their release. Human rights organizations in El Salvador expressed concerns that this case was politically motivated and denounced multiple abuses of due process.

In response to the ruling, the Committee of Families of Political Prisoners and the Politically Persecuted (COFAPPES), which had advocated for their release, issued the following statement: “There is no doubt that today, dignity, innocence … and organized struggle prevailed.”

The case began in 2019, when newly-elected president Nayib Bukele and Director of Prisons, Osiris Luna, publicly accused Landaverde of embezzling $14 million from the ASOCAMBIO (“I Change” Association), which had been established to manage prison funds. Investigations by Attorney General Raúl Melara found no wrongdoing, but instead pointed to corruption by Luna. The case stalled until Bukele’s legislators illegally appointed Rodolfo Delgado as the new Attorney General in 2021, who presented formal charges alleging the embezzlement of $400,000.

However, when the hearing finally began in August 2024, the prosecution’s own witnesses testified that Landaverde and other officials never had access to ASOCAMBIO funds. Similarly, there was no evidence of transfers from prison accounts to those of Landaverde, Roque, or the other defendants. For these reasons, COFAPPES had expressed optimism for “absolute exoneration” prior to today’s verdict.

The ruling, however, was not absolute. While most of the defendants were cleared of all charges, and some even received an apology from the tribunal for their ordeal, seven, including Landaverde and Roque, were convicted of administrative misconduct centered around the purchase of three vehicles and the rental of two properties which remain in possession of the prison system. For Landaverde and Roque, the sentences amount to “time served” plus three months of community service.

In his comments to reporters following the ruling, Landaverde explained that despite it being made clear in the trial that funds in question were managed according to law, the tribunal felt pressured to deliver a guilty verdict in order to justify their nearly three years of imprisonment. Landaverde further told reporters, “I am satisfied in the sense that I have recovered my freedom and it has been made clear that there were no illegal acts or irregularities in the use of resources by ASOCAMBIO during this period. [The] conviction for the crime of administrative misconduct … takes place within the framework of the pressures received by this tribunal. It is a victory, considering what I have faced, but it is clear that the ruling they issued is not independent.”

Statement from the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador:

“We commend the tireless and courageous work of the Committee of Families of Political Prisoners and the Politically Persecuted (COFAPPES), the families of the defendants, the defendants themselves to ensure that the truth prevailed in this case. The outcome affirms what the defendants had said all along: that they were the victims of a political smear campaign and an attempt by the Bukele regime to divert the public’s attention from revelations of serious corruption within.

“Unfortunately, they are not alone. Politically-motivated arrests have soared under Bukele and Attorney General Delgado, disproportionately targeting activists and community leaders from the leftist opposition. Like Landaverde, who developed chronic illnesses during his lengthy pre-trial detention, other historic FMLN leaders currently languish in prison, despite serious health risks and orders for their release.

“This case should show the world once and for all that the Bukele regime is attempting to manipulate the justice system for political aims and to bury the truth. It also shows how easily Salvadoran citizens can be detained for years on end without evidence. This has happened at a massive scale under the State of Exception, which remains in place in violation of the constitution. We echo the call of human rights organizations in El Salvador for the immediate release of people who have been arbitrarily detained, especially those for whom a judge has already issued orders for their release and yet who remain behind bars. Their lives are in jeopardy.”

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Press contact:

Alexis Stoumbelis, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), [email protected] +1 (202) 521-2510 ext. 205