The Angel’s list of corrupt Central America will also include human rights violations

Experts point out that there have been many abuses during the pandemic and argue that for Salvadorans living in the United States, the decisions the Bukele government makes about the bilateral relationship are relevant.

The Engel List will reveal not only those involved in corruption cases in Central America, but also those involved in cases of human rights violations, according to the postulates of the law that includes these crimes as well as complicity or abuse by security authorities.

Act HR 2615, known as the Engel List, could include under their names officials of the Nayib Bukele government who committed these crimes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or beyond.

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Manuel Escalante, deputy director of the Human Rights Institute of the UCA (Idhuca), argues that the main recent human rights violations occurred during the pandemic among them. the detention of people in detention centers, which did not provide adequate conditions for the installation of thousands of people, others were the military fences erected in the municipalities and the more than 7,000 Salvadorans who were stranded in various countries without being able to enter El Salvador.

People in an overcrowded shelter facility. At the start of the pandemic, these spaces became points of contamination for the corona virus in the country. / Photo-EDH archive

“These arrests were undoubtedly arbitrary arrests, and that was clearly established by the Constitutional Chamber because there was no law to support such arrests, and then the detention centers failing to meet the minimum health or even security conditions. situations involving a significant human rights violation, ”said Escalante.

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These measures that violate human rights have caused a significant number of victims, where many complained to the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDDH), who drew up a report registering the various cases dealt with by the Chamber and the Public Prosecution Service (FGR).

Apolonio Tobar, human rights lawyer. Photo EDH / Archives

In September 2020, the attorney, Apolonio Tobar, arrived at the Legislative Assembly to submit a report to the Health Commission stating that 2,000 human rights violations were recorded during the emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a document covering took on cases from March 21 to September 17 of last year, where 687 complaints of deprivation of liberty and 393 complaints of violation of the right to health were exposed, in addition to lack of access to information, all against the executive branch.

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Escalante also points out that it is unknown to date that there are serious or ongoing investigations into these human rights violations, “these violations have been documented by civil society and by the PDDH, but the Public Prosecution Service is not investigating in my view. the Angel list will have for reference what the Prosecution is doing, then these facts will probably not be included, we will have to see how they build them, ”he explains.

Arnau Baulenas, Legal Coordinator of the Human Rights Institute of the UCA (Idhuca), notes that just one of the critical moments in the administration of President Bukele’s government was that the actions of the authorities in light of the deprivation of liberty during the quarantine, true either the police or the armed forces arbitrarily determined whether a person was not respecting the law

“Any deprivation of liberty can be discussed before a judge or judge determines whether it was legally authorized to circulate, but what we could see is that a police officer or a serviceman decided whether the person was abiding by the law or not. Another violation, identified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), is an attack on freedom of expression, ”said Baulenas.

It indicates that it must have been the IACHR that had taken precautions for journalists from El Faro, as their lives could be in danger for the practice of journalism, ‘and this was largely attributed to the administration of the Bukele government, where the attacks came from, ”he says.

He adds that outside of corruption within the government, human rights have been compromised, both within the framework of the pandemic crisis and beyond.

Bukele was the only Latin American head of state to receive Trump for a bilateral meeting at the UN meeting in September 2019. Photo released by the Secretary of the Presidency

Celia Medrano, a human rights defender, believes that the Salvadoran government should address allegations of human rights violations, not only those reported by the United States, but others mentioned by the international community, but the question arises whether the government of El Salvador The United States as a strategic ally as it was during the reign of former President Donald Trump, or if this has changed since November 2020.

Whether the real bets are aimed rather at other governments, such as China or Russia, little significance would imply pressure from the Joe Biden government on the Salvadoran government. Corruption is a serious violation of human rights, and as long as corrupt individuals are supported in government agencies and guaranteed impunity, little progress can be made towards long-term solutions in the areas of human rights, security, development, essential elements for any policy also. focused on a comprehensive approach to migration, which is what should move the agendas of both El Salvador and the United States, ”said Medrano.

You could read: Bukele fears losing control of CICIES over the visit of the US special envoy who prioritizes the role of the prosecution, deputies say.

The lawyer and human rights defender indicates that there are nearly 3 million Salvadorans in the United States who could be affected by the decisions made by the Bukele government, and leaving it in the background would be a serious mistake.

Regarding what happened during the crisis as a result of the pandemic, he points out that there were many complaints about violations of constitutional rights, which could not be affected even in calamities or emergencies, with the Chamber clearly pointing out these violations .

“The FGR was not a decisive counterbalance, sufficient in proportion to the seriousness of the acts of violations of law, abuse of power, human rights violations, attacks on political opponents and state agencies reported to the Salvadoran government. We expect more strength and effectiveness in the FGR, ”says Medrano.

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