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        {"code":"27809","sect":"EF Audio","sect_slug":"ef-audio","hits":"135","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202505\/ef_audio\/27809","link_edit":"","name":"Podcast: Seven Years of Nicaraguan Repression in UN Hot Seat","slug":"podcast-seven-years-of-nicaraguan-repression-in-un-hot-seat","info":"The U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua names Ortega, Murillo, and dozens of top officials in a report on crimes against humanity. Days before Bukele meets with Trump, the State Department certifies his government as respectful of human rights and softens its travel advisory for El Salvador.","mtag":"Impunity","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"135","pict":{"cms-image-000038319-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38319","name":"cms-image-000038319.JPG","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038319.JPG","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038319.JPG","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038319-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;A demonstrator shows a bullet from an MP5, a sub-machine gun used by Nicaraguan police to attack protestors in Masaya on June 2, 2018. International organizations and journalists reported during the mass protests that government forces often shot to kill. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EA demonstrator shows a bullet from an MP5, a sub-machine gun used by Nicaraguan police to attack protestors in Masaya on June 2, 2018. International organizations and journalists reported during the mass protests that government forces often shot to kill. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000041841-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"41841","name":"cms-image-000041841.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041841.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041841.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041841-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Riot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias televison station in Managua, on Dec. 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan Police. The director of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora, was arrested in the raid. By then, rights groups reported that at least 320 people had been killed in a brutal government crackdown launched in response to the escalation in April of street protests, initially against pension reform. Photo Maynor Valenzuela\/AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ERiot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias televison station in Managua, on Dec. 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan Police. The director of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora, was arrested in the raid. By then, rights groups reported that at least 320 people had been killed in a brutal government crackdown launched in response to the escalation in April of street protests, initially against pension reform. Photo Maynor Valenzuela\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000041842-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"41842","name":"cms-image-000041842.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041842.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041842.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041842-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Copy of the passport of U.S. citizen Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, detained in El Salvador in January 2023, under the state of exception. By June of that year, hip-hop collectives reported that 15 artists, including Hern\u00e1ndez, had been imprisoned under the state of exception. Photo Carlos Barrera&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ECopy of the passport of U.S. citizen Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, detained in El Salvador in January 2023, under the state of exception. By June of that year, hip-hop collectives reported that 15 artists, including Hern\u00e1ndez, had been imprisoned under the state of exception. Photo Carlos Barrera\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000041310-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"41310","name":"cms-image-000041310.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041310.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041310.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041310-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;U.S. President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador hold a meeting in New York, on Sep. 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Photo Saul Loeb\/AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EU.S. President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador hold a meeting in New York, on Sep. 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Photo Saul Loeb\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38319,"date":{"live":"2025\/04\/11"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2025","data_post_dateLive_MM":"04","data_post_dateLive_DD":"11","text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\"https:\/\/embed.podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/seven-years-of-nicaraguan-repression-in-un-hot-seat\/id1617223682?i=1000703167643\" width=\"320\" height=\"175\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003EThe following is a transcript of episode 24 of the weekly El Faro English podcast,\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/central-america-in-minutes\/id1617223682\"\u003ECentral America in Minutes\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGRESSIER, HOST: Seven years since the start of the 2018 mass uprising in Nicaragua, the U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua has issued its most expansive report to date on the chain of command in sweeping state repression in the last seven years. Days later, the regime announced it will reactivate its international lawsuit against Israel, unironically expressing its concern for human rights and international law.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn April 3 in Geneva, Switzerland, the U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua issued a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2025\/04\/nicaragua-un-experts-publish-groundbreaking-report-naming-54-officials\"\u003Escathing report\u003C\/a\u003E. They named 54 top regime officials, including Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, as playing \u201ckey roles in arbitrary detentions, torture, executions, persecution of civil society and the media, denationalization campaigns, and the confiscation of private property.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGroup member Ariela Peralta denounced a \u201cdeliberate and well-orchestrated State policy carried out by identifiable actors through defined chains of command.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThis new report compounds the growing body of evidence against the regime on the international scene. Right before the New Year, an Argentinian court \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202501\/ef_audio\/27695\/Podcast-Argentina-Signs-Arrest-Warrants-for-2018-State-Crimes-in-Nicaragua.htm\"\u003Eissued arrest warrants\u003C\/a\u003E for Ortega, Murillo, and a dozen top officials implicated in over 300 murders, as well as torture and forced disappearances in their repression of dissidents in 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2902&ImageId=41841 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Riot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias televison station in Managua, on Dec. 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan Police. The director of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora, was arrested in the raid. By then, rights groups reported that at least 320 people had been killed in a brutal government crackdown launched in response to the escalation in April of street protests, initially against pension reform. Photo Maynor Valenzuela\/AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Riot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias televison station in Managua, on Dec. 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan Police. The director of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora, was arrested in the raid. By then, rights groups reported that at least 320 people had been killed in a brutal government crackdown launched in response to the escalation in April of street protests, initially against pension reform. Photo Maynor Valenzuela\/AFP \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs digital outlet Confidencial reported in their weekly English-language newsletter, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/confidencial.digital\/54-key-figures-in-ortegas-repression?e=cdbdf18904\"\u003EThe Dispatch\u003C\/a\u003E, on the U.N. Group\u2019s new list are six Nicaraguan Army generals and five colonels, the national police chief, and nine other top police officials. They wrote that all are part of the repressive apparatus directly controlled by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOne of the names, which you may remember from episode 16, is presidential security advisor Horacio Rocha L\u00f3pez, a retired police commissioner and Ortega loyalist who was instrumental in an internal regime purge starting in late 2023, earning him the nickname \u201c\u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202502\/ef_audio\/27735\/Podcast-Nicaragua%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9CAngel-of-Death%E2%80%9D-Falls-from-Grace.htm\"\u003EAngel of Death\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d. Co-president Rosario Murillo decreed Rocha\u2019s removal in early February, marking his fall from grace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAnother name is Luis P\u00e9rez Olivas, the former overseer of El Chipote Prison named in 2018 as supervising torture by Human Rights Watch and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs expected, the U.N. Group of Experts issued their report one day before the end of the current session of the U.N. Human Rights Council. It\u2019s their second major release this year: In late February, as the three person team was \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202502\/ef_audio\/27760\/podcast-salvadoran-police-re-arrest-activist-who-sued-director-of-prisons-for-torture\"\u003Epreparing the list\u003C\/a\u003E of implicated regime officials, the Ortega-Murillo regime withdrew altogether from the Human Rights Council.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38319 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"A demonstrator shows a bullet from an MP5, a sub-machine gun used by Nicaraguan police to attack protestors in Masaya on June 2, 2018. International organizations and journalists reported during the mass protests that government forces often shot to kill. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E A demonstrator shows a bullet from an MP5, a sub-machine gun used by Nicaraguan police to attack protestors in Masaya on June 2, 2018. International organizations and journalists reported during the mass protests that government forces often shot to kill. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Nicaraguan regime\u2019s retreat from international forums even reached the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, after a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202502\/ef_audio\/27760\/podcast-salvadoran-police-re-arrest-activist-who-sued-director-of-prisons-for-torture\"\u003Ereport found this year\u003C\/a\u003E that one-fifth of Nicaraguans go hungry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe universal-jurisdiction case in Argentina against the regime grows in salience given Ortega and Murillo\u2019s public posturing as defenders of international law and human rights in Occupied Palestine. On April 1, Nicaragua withdrew its request to join South Africa at the International Court of Justice in accusing Israel of genocide, citing high litigation costs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBut on Thursday \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/telesurtv\/status\/1910382594518376759?s=46\"\u003Ethe regime backpedaled\u003C\/a\u003E, announcing that it had \u201cdecided to notify the International Court of Justice that it wishes to continue the judicial processes for the violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMeanwhile, in Nicaragua, the mass protests that unleashed \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202404\/centroamerica\/27294\/A-Barricade-in-Masaya-against-Ortega.htm\"\u003Emonths of state brutality\u003C\/a\u003E will turn seven years old in one week, on April 18. Not one official or paramilitary member has been held accountable. On the contrary: the new constitution \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202502\/ef_audio\/27745\/podcast-honduran-campesinos-under-siege-in-bajo-aguan\"\u003Ecreated a \u201cVolunteer Police\u201d force\u003C\/a\u003E. In recent weeks, the regime has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vYH8uWP7jcI\"\u003Eforced public-sector employees to march\u003C\/a\u003E in ruling party gear and masks, harking back to the close cooperation between state security forces and paramilitary forces in 2018 \u2014 and yet another monument to the state policy of impunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201cExercise normal precautions\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENayib Bukele is set to visit the White House on Monday. And the Trump administration has rolled out quite the red carpet. On April 2, Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2025-05662.pdf\"\u003Ecertified the Salvadoran government\u003C\/a\u003E as strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, and respecting human rights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Tuesday, the State Department reduced travel warnings for U.S. citizens in El Salvador to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/traveladvisories\/traveladvisories\/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html\"\u003Ethe bare minimum, level one\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cExercise normal precautions in El Salvador,\u201d reads the travel advisory. \u201cGang activity has decreased over the last three years. This has caused a drop in violent crimes and murders.\u201d \u2014Close quote.\u2014\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe U.S. Embassy noted constitutional rights have been suspended for three years, and that U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals have been arrested under the state of exception.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn 2023, El Faro English documented the unjustified arrest of Nelson Vladimir Hern\u00e1ndez Tobar, a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202306\/el_salvador\/26878\/North-Carolina-Rapper-Among-15-Hip-Hop-Artists-Jailed-under-State-of-Exception.htm\"\u003ENorth Carolina hip-hop artist\u003C\/a\u003E who was detained for appearing \u201cnervous\u201d to police, and for lyrics alluding to his birth in an area of El Salvador once controlled by gangs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2667&ImageId=41842 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Copy of the passport of U.S. citizen Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, detained in El Salvador in January 2023, under the state of exception. By June of that year, hip-hop collectives reported that 15 artists, including Hern\u00e1ndez, had been imprisoned under the state of exception. Photo Carlos Barrera\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Copy of the passport of U.S. citizen Nelson Hern\u00e1ndez, detained in El Salvador in January 2023, under the state of exception. By June of that year, hip-hop collectives reported that 15 artists, including Hern\u00e1ndez, had been imprisoned under the state of exception. Photo Carlos Barrera \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENelson Rauda reported this week in El Faro English that the Trump administration deported Venezuelan-born \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/el_salvador\/27806\/US-Wife-of-CECOT-Deportee-%E2%80%9CHe-was-seeking-asylum%E2%80%A6-Sometimes-I-think-he%E2%80%99s-dead%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003Econstruction worker Jes\u00fas R\u00edos\u003C\/a\u003E in mid-March and jailed him in El Salvador despite his pending residency application, and without his U.S. citizen wife\u2019s knowledge. The U.S. press has found that only a handful of the 238 Venezuelans in CECOT have a criminal record.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe highest echelons of the Trump administration are doubling down on the lack of due process in their removals to El Salvador. After a senior DOJ attorney acknowledged in court that Kilmar Armando \u00c1brego Garc\u00eda, a Maryland-based family man born in El Salvador with no criminal record, should not have been sent to CECOT, he was \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/el_salvador\/27806\/US-Wife-of-CECOT-Deportee-%E2%80%9CHe-was-seeking-asylum%E2%80%A6-Sometimes-I-think-he%E2%80%99s-dead%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003Eplaced on administrative leave\u003C\/a\u003E for failing to \u201czealously advocate\u201d for the official deportation policy above all other considerations \u2014 including, apparently, the law.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThis is Bukele\u2019s first time at the White House, and he will go by Trump\u2019s invitation. It\u2019s the second time they meet in person: they spoke on the sidelines of the U.N. in New York in September 2019, as their administrations signed a safe-third-country migration agreement for El Salvador to receive asylum seekers from other countries. Bukele called Trump \u201cnice and cool.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EJoe Biden, on the other hand, never received Bukele at the White House, even snubbing the Salvadoran president in February 2021. At the time, U.S. officials from the White House and State Department \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-el-salvador-nayib-bukele-coronavirus-pandemic-central-america-1a37e4f418b11f2acaeca94e8c33e1e7\"\u003Eturned down multiple meeting requests\u003C\/a\u003E from Bukele in an unannounced trip to Washington \u2014just prior to the Salvadoran legislative elections\u2014 to send a message that U.S.-El Salvador relations were under review.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2667&ImageId=41310 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"U.S. President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador hold a meeting in New York, on Sep. 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Photo Saul Loeb\/AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E U.S. President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador hold a meeting in New York, on Sep. 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Photo Saul Loeb\/AFP \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAfter tense relations with El Salvador throughout 2021, especially over the illegal May 2021 removal of the Constitutional Chamber and attorney general, the Biden administration eventually folded. Tensions softened following the arrival of current Ambassador William Duncan in February 2023, and especially given their muting of criticism of Bukele\u2019s unconstitutional reelection in 2024.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBiden human rights reports were critical of the state of exception and mass rights violations in El Salvador. But in 2024, U.S. officials admitted to El Faro English that the State Department \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202405\/el_salvador\/27420\/us-tries-not-to-offend-bukele-in-annual-human-rights-report\"\u003Esoftened criticism of corruption\u003C\/a\u003E in its May human rights report, a touchy subject for Bukele.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe next month, in June, Bukele was \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202406\/el_salvador\/27448\/biden-and-trump-camps-jockey-for-favor-in-bukele-rsquo-s-new-el-salvador\"\u003Esworn-in to his second term\u003C\/a\u003E in violation of the constitution, leaving the old criticism as water under the bridge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Chr \/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003ERoman Gressier wrote this episode of Central America in Minutes, with production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. Subscribe on\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/central-america-in-minutes\/id1617223682\"\u003EApple\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3TaESG2BINoktFGP8BA8oy\"\u003ESpotify\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/es-ar\/podcasts\/af0dee75-5ec7-46c7-96d7-d7f2bd67d509\/central-america-in-minutes\"\u003EAmazon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLJqJvA0ji3Ds4El6MgJmK343llgSDPvRj\"\u003EYouTube\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E, and\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/269-central-america-in-minutes-228613132\/\"\u003EiHeart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E\u00a0podcast platforms.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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