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Published: Thursday, 06 April 2023 12:52
Jacobin
Owen Schalk
Following its failed crypto scheme, authoritarian president Nayib Bukele’s cash-strapped government is making moves to reverse El Salvador’s metal mining ban. Its reintroduction would be a disaster for the nation’s already contaminated water supply. Unlike many Latin American countries that court extractive investments from transnational companies, El Salvador has no metal mining industry. This is unique in the region, the result of years of organizing by social groups, environmental organizations, and the Catholic Church.
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Published: Wednesday, 05 April 2023 12:29
TeleSur
Five social leaders were arrested due to a judicial order that links them to an alleged case that occurred during the civil war.
On Thursday, Santa Marta's Association for Social Economic Development (ADES) called on citizens to protest in San Salvador City to reject the political persecution of social leaders carried out by the administration of President Nayib Bukele.
On Jan. 11, the Attorney General's Office and the Police executed an arrest warrant against Miguel Gamez, Alejandro Lainez, and Pedro Rivas in the municipality of Victoria.
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Published: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 12:25
The Guardian
Nina Lakhani
Activists worry the arrests are a move by the cash-strapped government to open the country to now banned metals mining
Five prominent environmental defenders who played a crucial role in securing a historic mining ban in El Salvador have been detained accused of civil war era and gang-related crimes, in what rights groups fear is a ruse to restart mining.
Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Antonio Pacheco and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega were detained on Wednesday in Cabañas in northern El Salvador, accused of killing an alleged army informant more than 33 years ago during the brutal civil war that claimed 75,000 lives.
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Published: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 12:06
Common Dreams
Jessica Corbett
Critics warn that the Salvadoran government is "desperate for revenues" and trying to "demobilize potential grassroots opposition" to reversing a historic nationwide ban on environmentally destructive metal mining. More than 250 organizations from 29 countries came together Friday to pressure the Salvadoran government to drop the charges against and release five water defenders who were instrumental in achieving a 2017 legislative ban on metal mining in El Salvador.
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