In a searing op-ed published by Costa Rica’s La Nación, the husband of Ruth López — a prominent Salvadoran human rights lawyer — recounts how she vanished into El Salvador’s prison system a year ago. López had led the Anti-Corruption and Justice Unit at Cristosal, a Central American human rights organization, and had directed investigations into alleged corruption including misuse of pandemic funds and fraud related to El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
She was recognized by the BBC as one of the world’s 100 most influential women. Her imprisonment, her husband argues, puts the lie to President Nayib Bukele’s claim that his brutal prison regime targets only gang members. The case has drawn international attention to the widening scope of El Salvador’s mass incarceration policies.
