The national government is gradually silencing freedom of the press through threats, intimidation, discrediting, and pressure against independent media outlets and journalists. These actions have led many reporters and editorial teams from major newsrooms to leave the country.
On June 1, the government accused both foreign and local media, as well as non-governmental organizations, of organizing a “coordinated attack” against it. Nevertheless, it continues to claim that there is full respect for freedom of expression and the press, arguing that “no journalists have been arrested, and no media outlets have been shut down.”
Documentation from organizations contradicts this narrative. According to data from the Monitoring Center of the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES), between May 1 and July 14 of this year alone, 180 attacks against journalists were recorded. The most frequent forms of aggression include physical harassment, digital harassment, intimidation and insults, stigmatizing discourse, and restrictions on journalistic work. In June, the IAPA, along with 17 other international organizations, called on the government to guarantee the physical safety of journalists and to cease all forms of persecution, surveillance, or intimidation.
In this hostile environment, several media outlets and journalists have chosen to leave the country. The independent outlet FOCOS TV announced that it had relocated its legal and financial operations to Costa Rica due to the unfavorable conditions for practicing journalism in El Salvador.
Nelson Rauda Zablah, digital editor of El Faro, and six other journalists from the outlet also left the country after the government threatened to arrest them for revealing secret agreements between the government and gangs.
At the end of July, journalist Jorge Beltrán Luna from El Diario de Hoy left the country after experiencing police surveillance and harassment. Beltrán has faced incidents ranging from being slapped by a police chief to a $10 million lawsuit filed against him and El Diario de Hoy by a relative of the head of state security, for republishing information about espionage published initially by the Mexican magazine Proceso.
The APES reported that as of June 13, it had documented the forced displacement of around 43 journalists, due to “multiple cases of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary restrictions.” It later denounced strong indications that the government maintains complete lists for surveillance, intimidation, and even potential arrests of journalists and human rights activists.
Lawyer Salvador Enrique Anaya, columnist for El Diario de Hoy, was arrested on June 7 after denouncing the detention of fellow lawyer and human rights defender Ruth Eleonora López. As in other cases, both were accused of financial crimes and subjected to the state of exception, which is supposed to apply only to gang members and restricts the judicial and civil rights of detainees.
APES also announced the temporary closure of its offices and the suspension of externally funded projects due to the enactment of the Foreign Agents Law, through which the government seeks to tax independent organizations it considers critical. Nevertheless, APES announced that it will continue its activities from outside the country to denounce censorship and defend press freedom.
The problems affecting press freedom extend to freedom of expression. According to a survey by the Public Opinion Institute of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (Iudop-UCA), six out of ten Salvadorans are “more cautious” when sharing their political opinions.
In other notable developments, the Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression resigned in May, despite criticism for allegedly favoring the government in his reports and statements.
On June 25, journalist Guillermo Cartagena from the digital magazine Gato Encerrado was harassed by police. Three officers arrived at his home in the Mejicanos district of San Salvador to inquire about basic services and the number of people living there.
El Salvador remains in the category of countries with high restrictions in the Chapultepec Index on Freedom of Expression and of the Press. The World Press Freedom Index by RSF recorded that El Salvador has dropped 61 positions in the last five years.
