Critics of Bukele face prolonged exile from their home in El Salvador

In recent months, El Salvador has seen a significant exodus of human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, and environmentalists who have fled the country due to escalating repression and the imminent risk of imprisonment. The crackdown on dissenting voices under President Nayib Bukele's government has led to over 80 individuals seeking refuge in neighbouring Central American countries and Mexico.

Key figures and their stories include:

Members of Cristosal, El Salvador’s most prominent human rights organization, including Executive Director Noah Bullock and Chief Legal Officer Ruth López. After 25 years of activism documenting corruption, torture, and abuses within Bukele’s government, Cristosal was forced to suspend operations and relocate abroad in mid-2025 amid increasing threats and the arrest of López along with other activists. The group faced police raids, violent repression of peaceful protests, and new laws targeting dissenting voices, which pushed over 100 political exiles—journalists, lawyers, academics, environmentalists, and activists—to flee across Central America and Mexico.
Ruth López, head of Cristosal's anti-corruption and justice unit, was imprisoned by the government before the organization decided to leave the country, marking a tipping point for activists.
Additional journalists and activists — at least 40 journalists and 20 activists fled between June and July 2025 due to fear of reprisals, marking the largest wave of political exile in years, reminiscent of the civil war era. These individuals often escaped with only backpacks, uncertain of their futures.
Abraham Abrego, Rene Valiente, Rafael Cruz, also part of Cristosal, participated in the press conference abroad announcing the organization's suspension of El Salvador operations.

The exiled individuals have documented and protested government complicity in abuses such as illegal detentions, torture in prisons like the mega-prison CECOT, and controversial deportations of Venezuelan migrants under a secret U.S.-El Salvador agreement. The government's repression includes police raids on homes, targeting of human rights groups, and laws branding activists as foreign agents, forcing them into a choice between exile or imprisonment.

Among those who have fled is Amalia Lopez, an environmental lawyer who helped file a legal challenge against the lifting of the ban on metal mining by Bukele's government. Lopez was forced to leave El Salvador in April due to pressure and threats. Another environmental defender and a community leader were detained in May, protesting near Bukele's residence.

Ingrid Escobar, the director of Socorro Juridico, is one of the human rights activists who have fled. She underwent surgery for a tumor after leaving El Salvador and is currently in Mexico. Escobar has been a critic of Bukele's state of emergency, which has led to about 88,000 people being detained. She claims that among the prisoners are "thousands of innocents."

Beltran is one of 47 reporters who have gone into exile in recent months. A journalist for 23 years, Beltran left El Salvador for Guatemala seeking asylum due to unsafe conditions for practicing free and critical journalism. Beltran denounced corrupt Bukele officials and human rights violations in his work for El Diario de Hoy. He was warned he was being targeted by the police and decided to leave El Salvador.

Their experiences reveal a stark climate of fear and repression under the current regime, with international human rights advocates increasingly concerned over the lack of accountability and protection for civil society actors in El Salvador. The passage of a "foreign agents" law similar to those used in Russia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua has added to the tension, stipulating strict new laws for NGOs, including a 30 percent tax on their income.

These developments have raised alarm bells not only in the region but globally, as El Salvador's democratic institutions and rule of law are being eroded under Bukele's rule. The exiled individuals plan to continue their work from abroad, reporting on events in El Salvador and advocating for democracy and human rights.

[1] Amnesty International, "El Salvador: Escalating Repression and Attacks Against Human Rights Defenders," 2025. [2] Human Rights Watch, "El Salvador: Crackdown on Dissent and Repression of Activists," 2025. [3] Committee to Protect Journalists, "El Salvador: Journalists Forced into Exile Amid Repression," 2025. [4] Freedom House, "El Salvador: Democracy in Retreat," 2025. [5] Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "Report on the Situation of Human Rights in El Salvador," 2025.

The human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, and environmentalists who have fled El Salvador due to escalating repression under President Nayib Bukele's government have documented instances of illegal detentions, torture, and abuses within the government.
The exodus of over 200 political dissidents from El Salvador to neighboring countries and Mexico includes key figures like Noah Bullock, Ruth López, Abraham Abrego, Rene Valiente, Rafael Cruz, and Ingrid Escobar.
Amalia Lopez, an environmental lawyer, was forced to flee El Salvador in April due to pressure and threats after challenging the government's decision to lift the ban on metal mining.
The government's repression extends to targeting human rights groups, with police raids on homes, arrests of activists, and new laws branding them as foreign agents, pushing many into exile or imprisonment.
International human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, have expressed concern over the deteriorating situation for civil society actors in El Salvador.
The passage of a "foreign agents" law, similar to those in Russia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, has added to the tension, stipulating strict new laws for NGOs, including a 30 percent tax on their income.
The exiled individuals, including Beltran, a journalist who denounced corruption and human rights violations, plan to continue their work from abroad, reporting on events in El Salvador and advocating for democracy and human rights.