El Faro Alleges Asset Freeze in El Salvador as Pressure Mounts on Independent Media

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Salvadoran investigative outlet El Faro says authorities froze assets belonging to two of its members, including a bank account and a property, and it is describing the move as a sharper phase of political persecution over its anti-corruption reporting on President Nayib Bukele’s government.

Speaking at a Thursday news conference, El Faro director Carlos Dada said, “It’s another level of attack against us with a clear purpose,” adding, “These are not fiscal measures. They are political measures trying to silence us.”

The newsroom and Bukele have repeatedly clashed over El Faro’s investigations into alleged corruption during his administration, including reports that government representatives held talks with gangs. The reported asset freeze came soon after El Faro and PBS Frontline released a documentary on those gang negotiations.

Bukele came to office in 2019 on an anti-corruption message and was then the region’s youngest leader. Human rights organisations have since intensified criticism of his approach, pointing to repression of dissent and abuses under a four-year state of exception that has led to the imprisonment of more than 91,000 people.

Bukele’s office did not immediately answer a request for comment. In earlier disputes, the president has labelled El Faro’s reporting as “fake news.”

Dada said El Faro did not receive formal notice from the government about the freezes. He said the outlet discovered the action through information from the bank and the property registry.

Since 2020, Salvadoran authorities have carried out continuing audits of the outlet while alleging it avoided US$200,000 in taxes, an accusation Dada rejected.

El Faro journalists have also faced spyware intrusions. In 2022, Pegasus spyware was found on more than 20 iPhones used by its journalists, and later that year the reporters filed suit against NSO Group in US federal court.

The organisation relocated its headquarters to Costa Rica in 2023, citing what it called a repressive environment in El Salvador. It says all of its members are now living in exile outside the country.

Pressure on critics escalated further in 2025, when well-known human rights defender Ruth López was arrested. One year later, she remains in prison without trial and with limited access to relatives and legal counsel. Soon after, in July 2025, Cristosal — the leading human rights organisation where she worked — announced it was leaving El Salvador, citing growing harassment and legal threats.

Regional observers say tax probes and asset seizures have been used elsewhere to intimidate critical voices, with Nicaragua under President Daniel Ortega cited as a key example.

At Thursday’s news conference, Claudia Paz y Paz, director of the Costa Rica-based Centre for Justice and International Law, which represents El Faro before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said the freeze amounts to “retaliation” over the outlet’s reporting and is intended to “silence the voices of journalists.”