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Release political prisoners El Salvador! Halt U.S. support for repression!

A university student arrested on his way home from covering a press conference. A former revolutionary leader recovering from heart surgery - lured from his home by police on false pretenses. An attorney arrested in her pajamas in the middle of the night and disappeared for 72 hours. A human rights defender jailed along with dozens of members of the community he was supporting against an eviction notice.

These are some of the nearly 90 reported cases of political prisoners currently languishing behind bars in Bukele’s prisons in El Salvador. Most have been detained without trial for over a year - many for two or more - while others face 20+ year convictions on trumped up charges.

What ties them together? Speaking out against Bukele’s abuses.

One would hope that the governments around the world would move to end their support for this authoritarian regime, which international experts conclude may be committing crimes against humanity for its systematic human rights violations under an ongoing State of Exception that suspends constitutional rights and due process.

And yet, the Trump Administration calls El Salvador one its “strongest partners in the region.” It is therefore incumbent upon Congress to act.

Take action today! Urge your elected officials to:

Join people of conscience around the world to denounce these abuses and call for freedom for El Salvador’s political prisoners
Exercise their power in Congress to halt U.S. assistance to the security forces and any other government institution perpetuating this repression in the upcoming 2027 budget.

Outside the U.S.? Demand their release on social media using these hashtags #LibertadAPresosPoliticosSV #AltoAlaRepresionSV

Tweet de example: "#LibertadYa para los presos politicos de la Alianza Nacional El Salvador en Paz! @pncsv @fgr_sv @penalesSV #LibertadAPresosPoliticosSV #LibertadVeteranosSV #AltoAlaRepresionSV

We just need few pieces of information to send your messages. NOTE: If you are asked for a title and given only limited choices, this request comes from the Congressional offices themselves - not from us - and is not, unfortunately, something we can change on our end.

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Release political prisoners in El Salvador! Halt U.S. support for repression!

Your Representative

Subject: Call for release of political prisoners in El Salvador, suspend U.S. assistance

Message:

I am writing today to urge you to withhold U.S. security assistance to El Salvador in the upcoming budget in light of widespread human rights violations and ongoing political persecution against opposition voices. Recently, a group of international jurists “concluded that the serious human rights violations committed by the government of El Salvador during the state of emergency may indeed constitute crimes against humanity because of the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks [against a civilian population].” Meanwhile, those who speak out, organize or take legal action against these and other rights violations are at risk of being jailed indefinitely, tortured or dying in prison due to medical neglect. Human rights organizations have documented nearly 90 people being politically imprisoned in El Salvador, including human rights defenders, labor unionists, and land defenders, most detained under “pretrial detention,” entirely cut off from the outside world. This includes Ruth Lopez, a high-profile attorney who brought 150 legal complaints against the government, ten leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador who mobilized peaceful demonstrations against abuses of power, and Fidel Zavala, who had gone public with testimony of abuses and torture in the prisons, only to be re-arrested while accompanying the La Floresta community that was organizing to legally challenge their mass eviction. You can make a difference by publicly calling for their release and taking action to end U.S. support for this repression.

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Your Senator

Subject: Call for release of political prisoners in El Salvador, suspend U.S. assistance

Message:

I am writing today to urge you to withhold U.S. security assistance to El Salvador in the upcoming budget in light of widespread human rights violations and ongoing political persecution against opposition voices. Recently, a group of international jurists “concluded that the serious human rights violations committed by the government of El Salvador during the state of emergency may indeed constitute crimes against humanity because of the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks [against a civilian population].” Meanwhile, those who speak out, organize or take legal action against these and other rights violations are at risk of being jailed indefinitely, tortured or dying in prison due to medical neglect. Human rights organizations have documented nearly 90 people being politically imprisoned in El Salvador, including human rights defenders, labor unionists, and land defenders, most detained under “pretrial detention,” entirely cut off from the outside world. This includes Ruth Lopez, a high-profile attorney who brought 150 legal complaints against the government, ten leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador who mobilized peaceful demonstrations against abuses of power, and Fidel Zavala, who had gone public with testimony of abuses and torture in the prisons, only to be re-arrested while accompanying the La Floresta community that was organizing to legally challenge their mass eviction. You can make a difference for them by publicly calling for their release and taking action to end U.S. support for this repression.

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Your Senator is on the powerful Appropriations committee that can restrict funding - urge them to do so!

Subject: Appropriations: No U.S. tax dollars for repression in El Salvador

Message:

I am writing today to urge you to withhold U.S. security assistance to El Salvador in the upcoming budget in light of widespread human rights violations and ongoing political persecution against opposition voices. Recently, a group of international jurists “concluded that the serious human rights violations committed by the government of El Salvador during the state of emergency may indeed constitute crimes against humanity because of the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks [against a civilian population].” Meanwhile, those who speak out, organize or take legal action against these and other rights violations are at risk of being jailed indefinitely, tortured or dying in prison due to medical neglect. Human rights organizations have documented nearly 90 people being politically imprisoned in El Salvador, including human rights defenders, labor unionists, and land defenders, most detained under “pretrial detention,” entirely cut off from the outside world. This includes Ruth Lopez, a high-profile attorney who brought 150 legal complaints against the government, ten leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador who mobilized peaceful demonstrations against abuses of power, and Fidel Zavala, who had gone public with testimony of abuses and torture in the prisons, only to be re-arrested while accompanying the La Floresta community that was organizing to legally challenge their mass eviction. You can make a difference for them by publicly calling for their release and taking action to end U.S. support for this repression. I urge you to support FY27 appropriations language to restrict security assistance to El Salvador.

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Your Representative is on the powerful Appropriations committee that can restrict funding - urge them to do so!

Subject: No U.S. tax dollars for repression in El Salvador

Message:

I am writing today to urge you to withhold U.S. security assistance to El Salvador in the upcoming budget in light of widespread human rights violations and ongoing political persecution against opposition voices. Recently, a group of international jurists “concluded that the serious human rights violations committed by the government of El Salvador during the state of emergency may indeed constitute crimes against humanity because of the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks [against a civilian population].” Meanwhile, those who speak out, organize or take legal action against these and other rights violations are at risk of being jailed indefinitely, tortured or dying in prison due to medical neglect. Human rights organizations have documented nearly 90 people being politically imprisoned in El Salvador, including human rights defenders, labor unionists, and land defenders, most detained under “pretrial detention,” entirely cut off from the outside world. This includes Ruth Lopez, a high-profile attorney who brought 150 legal complaints against the government, ten leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador who mobilized peaceful demonstrations against abuses of power, and Fidel Zavala, who had gone public with testimony of abuses and torture in the prisons, only to be re-arrested while accompanying the La Floresta community that was organizing to legally challenge their mass eviction. You can make a difference for them by publicly calling for their release and taking action to end U.S. support for this repression. I urge you to support FY27 appropriations language to restrict security assistance to El Salvador.

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Your Rep or Senator is already speaking out - thank them!

Subject: Thank you for defending human rights in El Salvador

Message:

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Sorry, we are having trouble locating some of your elected officials, but you can still help by spreading the word with your networks - thank you!

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Sorry, we are having trouble locating some of your elected officials, but you can still help by spreading the word with your networks - thank you!

The comment period for this document is now closed. But, you can still help!

Please share this action with your network and help us build momentum!