Democratic lawmakers urge Biden administration to address ‘authoritarian’ actions by Salvadoran president

Democratic lawmakers urged the Biden administration in a letter Tuesday to address “authoritarian” actions by the Salvadoran president.

“We are writing to express our significant concerns regarding democratic backsliding and an increase in reports of human rights violations in El Salvador,” the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken reads. “These concerns are especially pressing with elections planned for early next month, in which the incumbent President Nayib Bukele is running for an unconstitutional second term.”

The group of lawmakers that sent the letter to Blinken was led by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), according to a Tuesday press release. It also features signatures from Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.).

“The State of Exception declared by President Bukele in March 2022 has provided the framework for tens of thousands of arrests without due process, including that of U.S. citizens, and has also served as a smokescreen for the targeted harassment of political opponents of the government, human rights defenders, environmental activists, and others,” the letter continues.

The letter also says that during Bukele’s first term, he has “overseen the militarized harassment of the legislature, a significant erosion of judicial independence, and the de facto criminalization of civil society.”

“With the election approaching, this crushing of dissent and restriction on multiparty democracy has extended to the arrests and arrest warrants of political opponents, including the former Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States, Rubén Zamora,” the letter continues. “Much of this persecution has been done with the active complicity of El Salvador’s judicial system.”

The group of Democrats also requested the State Department take action, including sending a message on the significance of “respecting constitutional and democratic norms to the Salvadoran government, both publicly and privately” and restricting “security assistance and other support for the Salvadoran police and military in line with existing human rights laws.”

“The upcoming elections also represent a significant break in El Salvador’s constitutional norms, with President Bukele running for re-election,” the letter reads. “The Salvadoran constitution is unambiguous in its prohibition on serving consecutive terms as President, and Bukele is only able to run due to a ruling made by judges appointed by lawmakers from the President’s ruling party after the removal the previous supreme court officials – a move strongly criticized by the United States.”