"Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's crackdown on dissident voices in El Salvador has reached a point of no return. This Tuesday [May 20], the Legislative Assembly, under the president's absolute control, approved the Foreign Agents Law, which will allow it to dictate with a single order which humanitarian organizations or independent media outlets can or cannot […]
"Two foreign journalists and Loida Avelar, from FACTUM magazine, were arbitrarily detained by a group of seven members of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES, for its initials in Spanish), while they were reporting on the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador. While they were recording general images of the […]
"The editor of the digital media outlet El Faro revealed Saturday afternoon [May 3] that they have information that the [El Salvador] Attorney General's Office is preparing arrest warrants against its journalists following recent reporting of a pact between Nayib Bukele's government and gangs. […] El Faro published interviews this week with two leaders of […]
“The prolonged state of exception in El Salvador, in place since March 2022 to combat gangs, continues to erode freedom of expression and has raised concerns among regional and international human rights bodies, Amnesty International said in its annual report on Monday. According to the organization, "the prolonged state of emergency continued eroding freedom of […]
"The trial for the 1982 murder of four Dutch journalists—Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemsen, and Hans ter Laag—scheduled for April 23 has been suspended following a request by the attorney for Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, who informed the court that her client was undergoing surgery and would be unable to attend. The judge […]
"The brothers of two of four Dutch journalists murdered by the army of El Salvador in 1982 demanded justice on Tuesday [April 22], on the eve of the final phase of the trial against three former military chiefs. Cornelius Kuiper Joop, Koos Jacobus Andries Koster, Hans Lodewijk ter Laag and Jan Willemsen were killed in […]
“A regional report by the Böll Foundation compiles the fear of Salvadoran journalists in the face of attacks coming from the government. Experts consider that the climate could worsen in the short term. ‘The censorship and self-censorship motivated by the authoritarian behavior of President Nayib Bukele and his government, as well as the existing state […]
“Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched a new project in Central America to address the decline in press freedom in the region. The initiative seeks to strengthen support for journalists facing persecution, threats or forced exile, as well as to promote accountability from governments that systematically violate the right to inform. From March 17 to […]
“El Salvador faces a ‘systemic problem’ in guaranteeing press freedom, and the state has built a ‘propaganda and disinformation machine,’ Artur Romeu, Latin America director for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said in an interview with EFE. RSF conducted a three-day visit to El Salvador last week to meet with journalists, media outlets, and local organizations. […]
"Salvadoran journalist Alba Amaya, who worked for the German media Deutsche Welle (DW) for more than five years, said on Monday [March 17] in a statement that she left El Salvador with her family at the end of 2024 due to the fear she said she felt for her safety. 'What we have lived through […]
"Pedro Cruz, lawyer for the families of four Dutch journalists murdered on March 17, 1982, reported today that the Dulce Nombre María court notified them that the Supreme Court of Justice approved the extradition request for Colonel Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, one of the main people accused of ordering the quadruple murder. 'The Dulce Nombre […]
"El Salvador’s recently approved cybersecurity and data protection laws contain sweeping provisions that threaten media freedom and privacy rights, Human Rights Watch said. El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly, dominated by President Nayib Bukele’s party, Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas), approved both laws on November 12, 2024. The cybersecurity law establishes a State Cybersecurity Agency (Agencia de Ciberseguridad […]