TAKE ACTION HERE: Send an email or Tweet at Salvadoran authorities and/or the U.S. Embassy
Protests have taken to the streets since Thursday night, when members of the National Civilian Police (PNC) illegally detained five former cabinet members from the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Read more here from CISPES.
Among those captured were Dra. Violeta Menjívar, whom CISPES accompanied during her exciting tenure as Vice-Minister and then Minister of Health in carrying out a national health reform to guarantee universal health care and to prioritize the health and well-being of women and girls.
The unconstitutionally appointed Attorney General, Rodolfo Delgado, also announced he would also be issuing warrants for several other FMLN officials, including Salvador Sánchez Cerén, a former teachers’ union leader and long-time FMLN leader who served as Vice-President and Minister of Education under President Funes (2009-2014) before becoming President of El Salvador (2014-2019).
Organizers on the left say that the arrests are politically motivated, illegal and that the accusations against the individuals do not add up. Meanwhile, the de facto Attorney General has been parading the detainees around to the media in an all-too-common strategy to try them in the court of public opinion before any formal charges have been presented.
It is ESSENTIAL that we mobilize massive solidarity against this and any form of political persecution and demand that the Bukele administration and his henchmen in the PNC and the Attorney General’s office respect due process!
TAKE ACTION: Send an email to the U.S. Embassy or Tweet at the head of the police and Bukele himself
Those of us in the U.S. must put pressure on the U.S. Embassy, which has been COMPLETELY SILENT in the face of these abuses.
Given that U.S. government has spoken out several times regarding Bukele’s abuse of power (including a Tweet from Vice-President Harris herself when the right-wing members of the Supreme Court were recently ousted), their total silence in this case speaks volumes as to where their political allegiances lie – and this hypocrisy must be exposed.
These detentions set a dangerous precedent and are meant to serve as a threat to anyone who dares denounce the administration’s abuses. Click here to send an email or start Tweeting.
In solidarity,
Samantha Pineda and Alexis Stoumbelis, Co-Directors [of CISPES]
P.S. Bukele’s motorcade was seen entering the U.S. Embassy on the night of the detentions. If you think the public has the right to know why, send an email to the Embassy now!
