Prominent Human Rights Lawyer Arrested in El Salvador
Ruth Eleonora López, a leading human rights lawyer known for defending immigrants deported under US President Donald Trump’s stringent immigration policies, was arrested late Sunday in El Salvador, as per Al Jazeera.
López, 47, a senior figure at the rights group Cristosal and outspoken critic of President Nayib Bukele, was detained amid mounting fears of increasing repression against civil society in the country.
El Salvador’s attorney general’s office confirmed the arrest, accusing López of embezzling state funds during her tenure at the country’s electoral court over a decade ago. However, neither López’s family nor her legal team has been informed of her whereabouts, prompting Cristosal to condemn the lack of transparency as a “blatant violation of due process.”
The human rights organisation warned that López’s detention highlights the growing risks faced by defenders of human rights in El Salvador, where government actions against critics have intensified.
López has been an outspoken opponent of Bukele’s mass incarceration of alleged gang members, many of whom remain uncharged. Cristosal is one of Latin America’s most prominent rights organisations, providing support to Salvadoran families affected by Bukele’s tough security policies and assisting more than 250 Venezuelan immigrants deported to El Salvador under Trump’s administration.
President Bukele, who has openly aligned himself with Trump and controversially dubbed himself “the world’s coolest dictator,” recently announced plans to house US prisoners in a new mega-prison facility in El Salvador. Earlier this year, Trump invoked wartime powers to deport dozens of Venezuelans to El Salvador, accusing them of gang affiliations — allegations denied by the deportees’ families and lawyers.
In March, the US Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to rapidly resume these deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
In addition to López’s arrest, Cristosal reported in April that police entered its offices during a news conference to photograph and film staff and journalists, an act observers say forms part of a wider campaign of intimidation targeting civil society groups and independent media.
López was named by the BBC as one of the world’s 100 most inspiring and influential women for her dedication to justice and the rule of law.
A coalition of more than a dozen human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called for López’s immediate release. Their joint statement condemned El Salvador’s “state of exception” laws, warning that they are increasingly used not only to combat gang violence but also to silence dissenting voices.
