(Washington, DC) – Authorities in El Salvador have arrested the prominent human rights lawyer Ruth Eleonora López, Human Rights Watch said today.
On May 18, 2025, at 11 p.m., Salvadoran police arrested López at her home in San Salvador. Prosecutors are accusing López—who currently serves as the Director of Anti-Corruption and Justice at Cristosal, one of the leading human rights organizations in El Salvador—of embezzlement. At the time of her arrest, however, authorities did not provide any details about the specific allegations against her.
“Ruth López has bravely exposed corruption and human rights violations in El Salvador,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Her arrest appears to be part of increased efforts to silence critics of the Bukele government.”
López’s detention is the latest reminder that, under President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador is increasingly hostile to journalists, union leaders, and human rights defenders. Labeling critics as “gang defenders,” the Bukele administration and its supporters in the Legislative Assembly have passed laws that undermine freedom of expression, revoked the tax-exempt status of some NGOs, and arrested human rights defenders, including, most recently, a lawyer and an evangelical pastor linked to a peaceful protest against evictions. As a result of escalating harassment, prosecutors who have exposed Bukele’s government corruption and negotiations with gangs have been forced into exile, as have members of the media.
In May 2025, seven journalists with El Faro, a leading investigative news outlet, left the country after receiving information that the government had drawn up warrants for their arrest, a move that came following the publication’s investigation into secret negotiations between the Bukele government and gangs. Intimidations and smear campaigns subsequently forced El Faro to relocate and move its finances to Costa Rica in 2022.
A 2022 investigation by Amnesty International and Access Now identified the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware against journalists and members of civil society organizations in El Salvador on a massive scale.
The Bukele administration has taken other steps to crack down on civil society. On May 13, Bukele announced he would introduce in the Legislative Assembly a “foreign agents” bill that would tax all foreign aid received by human rights groups and independent media outlets at 30 percent.
Human Rights Watch has documented that other countries, such as Russia and Nicaragua, have used “foreign agent” laws as a tool to stigmatize, control, and silence independent civil society and media. By labeling organizations that receive foreign funding as agents of foreign powers, these laws impose burdensome reporting requirements, enable intrusive state interference, and often lead to censorship or closure.
Foreign governments should urgently express concern about López’s arrest and call on Salvadoran authorities to ensure López has access to legal counsel. They should also demand respect for her physical integrity and full compliance with due process, as guaranteed by international law, Human Rights Watch said. They should also urge the government to shelve the “foreign agents” bill, which runs counter to the right of freedom of association.
“López’s detention may well be a breaking point for freedom of expression and association in El Salvador,” Goebertus said. “Governments who want to reverse these growing authoritarian trends should speak up before it is too late.”
