El Salvador

Costa Rican workers protest IMF austerity talks; Two Haitian students die in jobs protests

Workers Struggles: The Americas

13 October 2020

Workers set up road blocks across Costa Rica over government talks with the IMF while at least two university students in Haiti have died during protests over lack of job openings for graduates.

El Salvador’s president brands gangs and opposition as “plagues”

By Andrea Lobo, 28 April 2020

The Salvadoran oligarchy’s response to the pandemic is characterized by indifference to the lives of the working class and a turn toward dictatorship.

Salvadoran soldiers invade Congress as president warns of imminent “social explosion”

By Andrea Lobo, 11 February 2020

President Bukele’s plan is aimed at preparing to violently crush opposition against the poverty and inequality that gives rise to gangs.

Human Rights Watch report finds 138 Salvadorans killed after being deported from the US

By Adam Mclean, 7 February 2020

The report, based on interviews with over 150 people over a one-and-a-half-year period, additionally identified 70 other deportees who were beaten, sexually assaulted, extorted or tortured.

Salvadoran woman exonerated after being sentenced to 30 years in prison over stillbirth

By Andrea Lobo, 21 August 2019

The decision in no way signals a shift away from the most draconian anti-abortion laws in the world, which continue to be enforced by the FMLN.

Guatemala and El Salvador discuss amnesty for war criminals

By Andrea Lobo, 9 April 2019

The ruling class is calling for forgiving and forgetting the mass murder, torture and other crimes carried out by US-backed dictatorships.

Election of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador signals further shift to US imperialism

By Andrea Lobo, 7 February 2019

The overwhelming victory of Bukele was chiefly an expression of popular loathing toward the traditional ruling parties.

El Salvador’s government bows to Washington over threat to deport 262,000

By Andrea Lobo, 11 January 2018

In response to the threat of mass deportations, the Salvadoran FMLN government has sought to curry favor with the Trump administration.

Democrats grovel as Trump pledges anti-immigrant attacks in White House meeting

By Eric London, 10 January 2018

A pathetic spectacle unfolded in Washington yesterday as the Democratic Party and President Donald Trump laid the basis for an escalated assault on immigrants in the US.

A crime against humanity

US to deport 262,000 Salvadoran immigrants

By Patrick Martin, 9 January 2018

This barbaric action will split up tens of thousands of families and threaten countless deaths among those forced to return to the killing fields of Central America.

Former president arrested in El Salvador amid government default crisis

By Andrea Lobo, 4 November 2016

The arrests of senior officials throughout the region on corruption charges are being used by Washington to discipline its client regimes and push through further social cuts.

Salvadoran ex-president flees corruption charges for Nicaragua

By Andrea Lobo, 15 September 2016

While US imperialism exploits these corruption scandals, both the Sandinistas and the Salvadoran FMLN are seeking a better deal with Washington.

Government’s “plan for safe El Salvador” fuels death squads

By Andrea Lobo, 28 June 2016

El Salvador's state and gang violence and its strong relation with stagnant poverty, have led one-fifth of Salvadorans to emigrate.

FMLN government escalates repression amid civil war-level violence in El Salvador

By Andrea Lobo, 14 April 2016

While most of the violence terrorizing Salvadoran communities is linked to the government, FMLN in power has consistently used it to justify greater austerity and militarization.

Ex-President Francisco Flores (1959–2016) and the decimation of El Salvador

By Neil Hardt, 28 March 2016

The corrupt ally of US imperialism stole millions of dollars in earthquake relief money and sent hundreds of Salvadoran soldiers to fight in the war in Iraq.

US deports Salvadoran war criminal Vides Casanova

By Rafael Azul, 14 April 2015

The former defense minister argued that he was only acting in accord with Washington’s policy in El Salvador.

Latin American governments “apologize” for dictatorships’ crimes

By Bill Van Auken, 20 January 2012

The formal state apologies offered by the governments of El Salvador and Uruguay for decades-old atrocities carried out by rightist regimes only underscores the failure to hold accountable those responsible for these crimes.

After winning El Salvador vote

FMLN vows respect for private property and Washington

By Bill Van Auken, 18 March 2009

After winning the El Salvador presidential election Sunday, ending the right-wing ARENA party’s two decades of rule, the FMLN vowed to pursue a policy that included defense of private property and closer ties with Washington.