Shadows of El Salvador: Bukele’s Critics in Forever Exile

Exodus of 80 Salvadoranos Facing Repression

In the past quarter, roughly eighty people—human‑rights activists, journalists, attorneys and environmental advocates—have fled San Salvador amid increasing governmental crackdowns. An AFP count corroborates the exodus caused by fears of imprisonment and escalating state oppression.

1. Human‑Rights Defender

• Ingrid Escobar, 43, left her home with two young sons and later underwent oncological surgery in Mexico. She reports that police shuttled them near her residence twice weekly prior to her departure.
• Escobar warned of forthcoming arrests by a prosecutor and chose to leave, citing threats of lethal incarceration without medical care.
• She voiced concerns that the 2022 state‑of‑emergency—resulting in 88 000 detentions—becomes a tool for silencing dissent and wrongly incarcerates a “thousand of innocents.”
• While her organization continues operations in El Salvador, she stresses the high risk of future detentions.

2. Lawyer and NGO Operatives

• Ruth Lopez, 39, was apprehended in her pajamas by police on 18 May for alleged corruption. Her arrest was a watershed moment for the anti‑corruption unit of the NGO Cristosal.
• Subsequently, Rene Valiente and 20 other Cristosal activists fled Guatemala after systematic surveillance, online harassment, and a newly enacted foreign‑agents statute imposing a 30% tax on NGOs.
• Both lawyers now counsel families of deported Venezuelans who endured months in a maximum‑security facility built for gang members.
• They accuse the Bukele administration of employing repressive tactics, “under the guise of security”, while undermining democratic safeguards.

3. Environmental Campaigner

• Amalia Lopez, a seasoned environmental lawyer, opposed the December repeal of the metal‑mining ban. She was compelled to exit the country in April to protect herself from heightened surveillance.
• In May, environmental defenders and community leaders detained outside President Bukele’s residence faced severe military enforcement.
• Lopez asserts that the absence of a clear return possibility, coupled with potential re‑elections, forces her to consider a long‑term exile.

4. Journalist

• Jorge Beltran, 55, left El Salvador for Guatemala on 14 June with his family behind a veil of emotional distress.
• After 23 years as a reporter, he faced systematic denial of public records and culminated in police threats.
• He now chooses to relocate, with the intention of setting up an online platform to report on Salvadoran affairs from abroad.
• Beltran admits the indefinite continuation of the Bukele regime makes a swift return unlikely.

While presidential forces assert that critics are being “distorted” or “deceptive”, sources in exile highlight a multifaceted repression strategy that overlays legal, fiscal, and punitive measures on dissenting voices. These stories represent a broader trend of unarmed professionals silenced under the guise of national security.