Mother of arrested Salvadoran lawyer says daughter is innocent and calls for her release
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The mother of a human rights lawyer arrested in El Salvador said Tuesday she was able to see and speak with her daughter more than 24 hours after her arrest and declared her daughter’s innocence in what critics say was government retaliation for her work.
Eleonora Alfaro spoke after visiting Ruth Eleonora López, the head of the anti-corruption team at nongovernmental organization Cristosal.
Police arrested López Sunday night alleging she participated in the embezzlement of funds when she held a government position earlier in her career.
Cristosal has been one of the most outspoken critics of some of President Nayib Bukele’s policies, especially the ongoing three-year state of emergency.
“My daughter is completely innocent, she has nothing to do with it,” Alfaro said. “She knows where this comes from and I do too.” She called on Bukele to order her daughter’s release.
“He has ordered my daughter’s arrest, because she has at times expressed criticism in favor of the people in and in favor of all Salvadoran society,” she said. Alfaro added that police treated her respectfully when she visited and that her daughter was in good health.
Bukele’s office has not commented on the arrest.
The alleged wrongdoing dates to her time as an adviser to Eugenio Chicas, the former president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal during the administration of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019).
Chicas moved from the court to the Cabinet of Sánchez Cerén and also served as a congressman. Last November, he and some of his relatives were convicted in a civil case for illegal enrichment between 2009 and 2021.
Chicas, who was detained in February, is now being prosecuted on criminal charges of illegal enrichment.
The Attorney General’s Office alleged that López had been involved in Chicas’ embezzlement.
Cristosal President Noah Bullock said Tuesday that López’s arrest was an “attack against the entire human rights movement.”
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