Take Action in Solidarity with El Salvador!
Recently, the U.S. Senate voted on a bill demanding transparency from the Trump administration on the human rights conditions facing migrants whom the U.S. is paying El Salvador to jail in its mega-prison, the overall human rights conditions in the country, and whether or not U.S. security assistance may be contributing to human rights violations. Though the measure failed along party lines, this is a critical time to keep the international spotlight on El Salvador.
On May 12, riot and military police violently detained peaceful protesters and arrested Don Ángel Pérez, president of El Bosque agricultural cooperative, followed by an environmental attorney Alejandro Henríquez, who had been supporting the community. On May 18, police arrested one of El Salvador's most prominent attorneys, Ruth López, head of the Anti-Corruption Unit at international human rights organization, Cristosal.
Use our sample emails to urge Members of Congress to call for their immediate release, and to continue pressing the Trump administration for answers.
2) Tell the Salvadoran government: Release human rights defender, Fidel Zavala!
Fidel Zavala, a prominent Salvadoran human rights defender and spokesperson for the grassroots Community and Human Rights Defense Unit (UNIDEHC) is currently being held in pre-trial detention along with 23 members of the la Floresta community who were fighting an eviction. According to Amnesty International, "Zavala’s detention is particularly concerning, as he has been both a witness to and a denouncer of torture in penitentiary centers." Arrest warrants were also issued for two human rights attorneys with UNIDEHC who had brought cases of corruption and abuse against the Bukele government, marking an alarming escalation in repression against both human rights defenders and land defenders.
Join the international campaign to press Salvadoran authorities to "guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Fidel Zavala and all detainees and to ensure they receive a fair trial with full due process guarantees."
"I am a CISPES supporter because continuing to fight for social justice and a more people-centered country means continuing the dream and sacrifice of thousands of my fellow Salvadorans who died for that vision.” - Padre Carlos, New York City
