Reps. Pocan, McGovern Stand Up for El Salvador's Water Defenders
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Jim McGovern (MA-02) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting him to call for the release of five political prisoners in El Salvador and for their charges to be dismissed. This comes after the January 2023 arrests of the five community leaders from northern El Salvador. There are strong indications that these arrests are politically motivated and intended to silence the overwhelming opposition to mining in the country.
“We write to express our serious concerns regarding the January 11, 2023 arrest of five
community leaders from northern El Salvador who were among the Water Defenders who led the successful effort to pass a historic law prohibiting metals mining in El Salvador in 2017,” the lawmakers wrote. "There are strong indications that the current Salvadoran government intends to repeal that law and we are concerned these arrests are politically motivated and intended to silence the overwhelming opposition to mining in the country. We also have concerns that these men have been denied their basic right to due process. Therefore, we strongly urge you to send a clear, public message calling for their release from pre-trial detention and for the charges against the accused to be dismissed.”
The lawmakers continued, “In recent years, the Salvadoran government has taken several steps that indicate a desire to repeal the landmark 2017 metals mining ban. The five Water Defenders began to speak out against these steps last year, and in January 2023, were suddenly arrested and charged with a decades-old alleged crime. The Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office requested and obtained complete secrecy for the proceedings. However, information from the prosecution’s statements in the days immediately following the arrests indicates there is likely very little evidence to connect the Water Defenders to the alleged crimes.”
Reps. Pocan and McGovern were joined by 15 of their Democratic colleagues on the letter, and the full text can be found here.