Human rights group leaves El Salvador amid crackdown on dissent
CNN
A prominent human rights group critical of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has suspended operations in the country, citing the government’s harassment, repression and persecution of human rights defenders.
A prominent human rights group critical of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has suspended operations in the country, citing the government’s harassment, repression and persecution of human rights defenders. Cristosal Executive Director Noah Bullock said the group would continue to operate from Guatemala and Honduras, and that the Salvadoran government’s actions have made it difficult to continue their work. “We are forced to choose between prison or exile,” Bullock said at a press conference in Guatemala City on Thursday. CNN has reached out to the Salvadoran presidency for comment on Bullock’s remarks. Bukele has been carrying out an iron-fisted crackdown on crime, which has expanded to civil society groups and journalists. The government has defended its actions, pointing to significant reductions in gang violence nationwide, but opponents say it has come at the cost of mass incarceration and the erosion of civil liberties. Cristosal’s announcement comes almost two months after one of its members, lawyer and human rights activist Ruth Eleonora López, was detained by Salvadoran authorities on allegations of illicit enrichment. López has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has requested a public trial.
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