On January 11, five people, including staff of the Association for Economic and Social Development (ADES) and leaders of the community of Santa Marta El Salvador, were arrested by the country’s Attorney General’s Office and National Civil Police. Those arrested were the Executive Director Teodoro Antonio Pacheco and Legal Advisor Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega of ADES and community leaders in Santa Marta: Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, and Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez.
The United Church of Canada joins with 250 organizations from 29 countries to call on the Salvadoran government to drop the charges against leading Water Defenders arrested on January 11 and advocate for their release. Read the full news story.
Image credit: ADES Santa Marta Facebook