Human rights organization WOLA (the Washington Office on Latin America) and an array of 84 other advocacy groups have issued a statement of solidarity with El Salvadorian groups who are fighting against the unjust detention of citizens in the wake of the country’s major gang crackdowns since March 2022. This statement openly criticizes the significant increase in surveillance and disruption of human rights defenders by police forces and state intelligence officers.
The measures, formulated in March 2022 and referred to as the régimen de excepción (state of exception), have caused a significant number of advocacy groups to become the target of coordinated operations. These operations are aimed at dismantling their efforts, such as the Movement of Victims of the Regime, which faced harassment by police following a press conference surveilled by government operatives reportedly posing as journalists.
In their statement, WOLA and the other organizations also provided specific demands. They are seeking assurances on the thoroughness and transparency of the investigation into human rights attorney Ivania Cruz by the Office of the Attorney General. They are also calling for protective measures for spokespersons of key human rights groups to ensure their safety and freedom of expression. The statement also requests the cessation of security assistance from the US to El Salvador.
WOLA’s statement conveyed the crucial role of human rights watchdogs in El Salvador, stating that they strongly condemn violations against human rights defenders, legal advocates and community organizers. WOLA states: “Their work is essential to a free and just society, and it is unacceptable to use state funds to spy on and intimidate them and attempt to limit their political rights”.
Since March 2022, the El Salvadorian government has implemented a crackdown in response to a dramatic increase in gang-related killings. The legislative assembly has so far approved twenty-five extensions to the régimen de excepción, most recently on April 10.
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