In June 2025, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele escalated his crackdown on dissent, arresting prominent constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya on contested charges of money laundering. Human rights groups say the move reflects a broader campaign to silence critics — including lawyers, journalists, and civil society leaders — many of whom have fled the country. Bukele, emboldened by his alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump, has suspended civil liberties under a prolonged state of emergency, detaining over 87,000 people with little due process.
Despite widespread international concern, including from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the U.S. has remained largely silent. Bukele’s administration has passed repressive laws modeled on other authoritarian regimes and used surveillance and intimidation to target NGOs. Independent journalists at El Faro are in exile after threats of arrest, highlighting the growing risks for press freedom in El Salvador.