Bukele critic arrested for money laundering

A constitutional lawyer and fierce critic of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been arrested on charges of “money laundering,” the prosecutor’s office said.

The lawyer, Enrique Anaya, has described Bukele as a “dictator.” He was arrested at his home in the city of Santa Tecla on Saturday.

Human rights organizations have said the move aims to silence those who question the government.

Bukele’s hardline approach to El Salvador’s powerful gangs has made him immensely popular among voters. But it has also led activists to raise alarm over arbitrary arrests and diminishing civil liberties.

What is Anaya accused of?

Images of Anaya handcuffed alongside police officers were shared on social media by the office of El Salvador’s attorney general. The authorities said Anaya will be referred to the courts for “money and asset laundering.”

The arrest comes after the detention this year of fellow lawyer Ruth Lopez, head of an anti-corruption unit of human rights NGO Cristosal. Lopez stands accused of embezzling state funds when she worked for an electoral court a decade ago.

El Salvador’s constitution officially does not allow successive presidential terms, but a Bukele-stacked Supreme Court unanimously allowed him to run, and he was reelected in February 2024 with 85% of the votes going his way.

Bukele accuses his critics of leftist political activism and last week warned that “corrupt opposition members” are not untouchable.

‘Whoever does not kneel before the idol, gets imprisoned’

“I don’t care if they call me a dictator. I’d rather be called a dictator than see Salvadorans killed in the streets,” he said on Sunday.

Anaya responded on a television program Tuesday that Bukele had removed “the mask,” adding “he is what he is.”

“Here, whoever speaks, whoever criticizes, whoever does not kneel before the idol, gets imprisoned. Of course, I am afraid,” Anaya said.

He said in his last X post on Friday that “the Bukelean dictatorship is increasingly questioned and confronted internationally,” referencing criticism from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) regarding the arrest of Lopez’s and other activists.