MEXICO CITY — Leading human rights activist, Ruth López, has been arrested in El Salvador, after the Attorney General’s office accused her of embezzlement of state funds.
López leads the anti-corruption and justice program for the human rights organization Cristosal.
She and her organization have documented human rights abuses in El Salvador — including inhumane conditions in jails and the extended state of emergency, during which the government has suspended many constitutional rights and imprisoned tens of thousands of suspected gang members without following due process.
The human rights organization say her whereabouts remain unknown and denounced her arrest as “short-term enforced disappearance”.
President Bukele accused non-profit organizations of encouraging the protests.
MEXICO CITY — Ruth López, a well-known human rights advocate, was arrested in El Salvador after being charged with embezzlement of state funds by the Attorney General’s office. López is in charge of the human rights group Cristosal’s anti-corruption and justice initiative.
López has been a vocal opponent of President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. She and her group have documented violations of human rights in El Salvador, such as cruel jail conditions and the prolonged state of emergency, where the government has suspended numerous constitutional rights and imprisoned tens of thousands of suspected gang members without following the proper procedures.
Although critics say the crackdown has resulted in widespread human rights violations and the detention of over 85,000 people, mostly young men, Bukele and his government assert that the crackdown has made the country much safer.
Her arrest occurs as the nation cracks down on dissent and as the Trump administration is strengthening its relationship with the Bukele government, which agreed to imprison migrants deported from the United States. A.
According to Cristosal’s statement, armed police officers took Lopez into custody at her residence late on Sunday night. The human rights group condemned her arrest as a “short-term enforced disappearance” and stated that her whereabouts are still unknown.
At a news conference on Monday, Lopez’s mother, Eleonor Alfaro, said the authority’s treatment of her daughter had been “cruel,” and she called for her immediate release alongside Lopez’s partner, Louis Benavide, and the leaders of the human rights group. Lopez’s family and Cristosal both refute the accusations against her, claiming they are politically motivated.
In a social media statement, the Attorney General’s office confirmed Lopez’s arrest. They allege that Lopez collaborated with Eugenio Chicas, the former president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and a magistrate who was arrested in February on charges of illicit enrichment, which he disputes, in the misappropriation of state funds.
The Salvadoran government has detained demonstrators in recent weeks. The protests were allegedly encouraged by non-profit groups, according to President Bukele.
Bukele has also declared that he will start taxing NGOs on foreign donations. The action was widely interpreted as an assault on his detractors.
