Arbitrary Arrest and Detention of Human Rights and Environmental Defenders, Santa Marta, El Salvador

The following letter was sent to the Ambassador of Canada to El Salvador Daniel Ahmad on January 27, 2023.

Dear Ambassador Ahmad,

On behalf of the Americas Policy Group (APG), a national network of Canadian civil society organizations with a 30-year history of working for human rights and justice in Latin America and the Caribbean, we convey congratulations on your appointment as Ambassador of Canada to El Salvador. Unfortunately, our best wishes are accompanied by a deep concern regarding the arrest and detention of five human rights and environmental defenders from Santa Marta, El Salvador.

We are gravely concerned about the execution of an administrative arrest warrant at 1:30 a.m. on January 11, 2023, against Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, and Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, in the Santa Marta community in the municipality of Victoria, by the Salvadoran Attorney General's Office and the National Civil Police. We are, moreover, alarmed by the simultaneous detention of Teodoro Antonio Pacheco, Executive Director, and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, Legal Advisor for the Association for Economic and Social Development of Santa Marta (ADES), at ADES’s offices in the municipality of Guacotecti.

Members of the APG have long-term partnership relationships with ADES and other organizations in the community. Our concern is based on knowledge and deep respect for the work of ADES and a historical accompaniment of the community of Santa Marta that dates back to its exile in Honduras. Since its return, members have built a community based on the common good and care for the environment. Moreover, women, small-scale farmers, youth, and the most vulnerable from Santa Marta and the surrounding communities have benefitted from ADES’s work in human rights, sustainable agriculture, water resources management, education, health, community organization, and popular participation over its 30-year history.

The arrest and search warrant read publicly to residents of Santa Marta links those arrested to a case that occurred "during the armed conflict." Almost 31 years after the end of the Salvadoran civil war, more than 40 years after the atrocities committed against the civilian population of Santa Marta, including countless human rights violations and crimes against humanity, and after years of work by civil society organizations for the recognition of the truth, justice, and the defense of victims’ rights, the Salvadoran state has not prosecuted a single case against the military and paramilitary. We, therefore, find it outrageous and suspicious that when the state pursues an alleged case, it does so to revictimize the victims.

The five human rights and environment defenders detained played a historical role in the successful campaign to ban metals mining in El Salvador in 2017 to save that nation's rivers and ecosystems. While the government is reportedly considering restarting mining in the country, local environmental and human rights organizations have publicly stated that the arrests are politically motivated and that the government seeks to silence these Water Defenders and demobilize community opposition to mining at this critical moment.

Furthermore, the warrant includes an additional accusation, that of the five stated individuals’ alleged affiliation to illicit groups. This accusation is of great concern given the consequences that such a term carries under the current "regimen de excepción" in El Salvador. We reject the implication that those arrested are associated with gang activities. This attack on human rights defenders, leaders of respected civil society organizations and communities, signals a disturbing new development in the “regimen” in El Salvador. It revives the practices of political persecution and arbitrary detention of civil society organizations not seen since the end of the civil war. This is immensely disturbing, as the ongoing state of emergency has suspended a wide range of civil liberties and has led to massive human rights violations, including thousands of arbitrary detentions and violations of due process, as well as torture, ill-treatment, and other abuses as reported by United Nations and Amnesty International experts.

Canada has recognized the key role played by human rights and environment defenders in protecting and promoting human rights, water, and the environment and strengthening the rule of law, often at great risk to themselves, their families, and their communities, and to the organizations and movements they represent. Given Canada’s commitment to promote and protect human rights, we ask you to engage Salvadoran officials to end the arbitrary arrest and detention of these five Santa Marta community leaders and ADES’s staff, a measure that would be consistent with Canada’s Voices at Risk guidelines. In particular, we ask that the Canadian Embassy in Salvador:

●       Support the respect of the rights of human rights defenders and their protection against arbitrary detention, in accordance with Canada’s Voices at Risk Guidelines;

●       Advocate for the end of the provisional detention of the five arrested community leaders;

●       Attend, as international observers, all upcoming trials of the defenders. If attendance at the trial proceedings is not possible, the Embassy's request to attend would be a significant demonstration of international interest and concern;

●       Ensure that the judicial process adheres to the law, does not follow the procedures of the emergency regime, respects due process, and respects human rights and the principles of justice;

●       Advocate for the physical and moral integrity of the persons arrested under these troublesome circumstances.

The APG looks forward to hearing from you regarding this paramount case. Our national group brings together over twenty international development and humanitarian NGOs, human rights organizations, labour unions, faith-based and solidarity groups, and research institutions. The strength of APG’s policy and advocacy work lies in our direct connection with respected civil society organizations on the ground in El Salvador. We remain committed to sharing relevant information and recommendations with you in order to inform Canadian foreign policy and engagement in El Salvador.

We wish to provide further information and meet with you regarding these concerns at your earliest convenience. Thank you in advance for your consideration, time, and prompt action.