El Salvador’s Crackdown on Dissent: A Warning for America’s Fight for Freedom

In El Salvador, a nation once celebrated for its hard-fought independence, over 300 citizens recently took to the streets demanding what should be universal: freedom for those unfairly detained and an end to rampant human rights abuses under President Nayib Bukele’s regime. On the country’s 204th Independence Day, these protestors declared their reality is far from free. Under an ongoing state of emergency purportedly aimed at combating gangs, countless “innocent” individuals—including prominent human rights defenders like lawyer Ruth López and environmental advocate Alejandro Henríquez—remain imprisoned without transparent due process. Such repression fuels fear, stifles voices of conscience, and undermines the...