(Washington, DC) – In a troubling development for human rights in El Salvador, police have unjustly arrested two defenders of civil liberties who were peacefully protesting against a mass eviction. Human Rights Watch has revealed today that these arrests, which have resulted in pretrial detention since late May 2025, are not only arbitrary but also based on unfounded charges.
The detained individuals, José Ángel Pérez, a 55-year-old pastor and community leader, and Alejandro Antonio Henríquez, a 29-year-old lawyer and environmental advocate, were engaged in a peaceful demonstration opposing the eviction of approximately 300 families from the El Bosque community in Santa Tecla, located near the capital of San Salvador. Authorities have charged them with “aggressive resistance” and “public disorder,” sending them into pretrial detention without a legitimate basis for these accusations.
“The evidence we reviewed shows that these community leaders were detained simply for exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” stated Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “When authorities treat peaceful protest as a crime, the message to all Salvadorans is unmistakably that they should stay silent or risk prison.”
According to Salvadoran law, “aggressive resistance” involves using “means of violence, intimidation, or threats” to disrupt police or judicial actions. The charge of “public disorder” pertains to obstructing public roads or access to them, impeding free movement, or invading buildings. Convictions for these offenses can lead to prison sentences ranging from two to six years.
The protests on May 12 saw numerous members of the El Bosque community gather outside the residential neighborhood of President Nayib Bukele. This demonstration was aimed at opposing an eviction order that threatened to displace hundreds of families. Remarkably, just three days after the protest, the court that issued the eviction order rescinded it.
Human Rights Watch analyzed 16 videos recorded around the time of the protest and Pérez’s subsequent arrest, as well as various photographs, social media posts, and court documents. The footage clearly indicates that the community members were peacefully gathered in a park-like median along the C-A4 highway. It shows no evidence of violent or threatening behavior from Pérez at the time of his detention, contrary to the claims made by prosecutors.
One video captures Pérez and Henríquez calmly engaging with police officers when one officer aggressively pulls Henríquez away, while anti-riot police began to surround the demonstrators. This footage contradicts the justification provided by prosecutors, who claimed Pérez’s arrest was essential to prevent “inevitable” and “aggressive actions” by the protesters.
The following day, Henríquez was arrested outside his workplace in San Salvador. Prosecutors alleged he ignored police orders to “stop,” yet court documents fail to provide any evidence that he engaged in any form of intimidation or violence, which is a necessary element for the charge of “aggressive resistance.”
Prosecutors have also asserted that Pérez and Henríquez committed “public disorder” by allegedly obstructing access to public roads. However, they did not present substantive evidence to support this claim. Instead, they referenced an interview with a private security guard who stated he began closing entrances to the residential neighborhood after the protests allegedly turned disorderly—this occurred well after Pérez’s arrest.
Additionally, a report from the vice ministry for transportation indicated that the protest posed a “latent and potential risk” of obstruction but did not specify any actual traffic disruptions. Human Rights Watch reviewed multiple videos showing traffic moving freely along either side of the median prior to the arrests. One video taken shortly before Pérez’s arrest even shows police temporarily halting traffic to allow protesters to retrieve water and food from a vehicle.
The lack of evidence presented by prosecutors suggests that the real motive behind these charges is to punish Pérez and Henríquez for their roles in organizing and leading a peaceful protest. In the case of Henríquez, prosecutors claimed he was “identified by witnesses” as the person who advised on the organization of the demonstration. They further argued that, as a lawyer, he should know that challenging a judicial ruling should not occur through protests, especially outside the private residence of a public official.
Following a hearing on May 30, a judge ordered that Pérez and Henríquez be placed in pretrial detention, initially sending them to holding cells in Colón district before transferring them to La Esperanza prison—commonly known as Mariona. Since their transfer, they have reportedly had no contact with their families or legal representatives. Human Rights Watch has previously documented the inhumane conditions within La Esperanza and other prisons in El Salvador, highlighting issues such as prolonged incommunicado detention, inadequate access to food, water, and healthcare, as well as instances of torture and mistreatment.
On May 13, President Bukele made unsubstantiated claims that the protesters were being “manipulated” by “so-called leftist groups and NGOs.” He announced plans to submit a bill to the Legislative Assembly aimed at taxing international funding received by civil society organizations at a rate of 30 percent. This bill, known as the “Foreign Agents Law,” was swiftly passed by the Assembly, which is dominated by Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party.
Under this new law, any individual or organization in El Salvador that receives foreign funds, goods, or services must register as a “foreign agent” with the newly established Registry of Foreign Agents. This registry has broad powers to grant exemptions based on vague criteria and to sanction any activities deemed contrary to “public order” or that threaten the country’s social and political stability.
These arrests, coupled with the implementation of the Foreign Agents Law, are part of a larger trend of repression against dissenting voices in El Salvador. In May, authorities also detained Ruth López, the director of Anti-Corruption and Justice at Cristosal, a leading human rights organization, along with lawyer Enrique Anaya. Both remain incommunicado, and their legal proceedings are shrouded in secrecy.
Human Rights Watch demands that judges overseeing these cases ensure that hearings are public, and that defendants have the opportunity to communicate with their families and lawyers. El Salvador is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights, both of which prohibit restrictions on peaceful assembly unless absolutely necessary to protect limited interests, such as public order and safety.
“Foreign governments and international organizations should increase their condemnation of human rights abuses in El Salvador and pressure the Bukele administration to drop the baseless charges against these human rights defenders,” Goebertus concluded.
