CISPES: Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador

On August 20, the President of El Salvador, Salvador Sanchez Cerén, announced that the small Central American Republic would be breaking diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of establishing them with the People´s Republic of China. Within days of the announcement, Members of Congress and the White House issued statements condemning the decision and threatening to retaliate, including a small group of Republican senators who introduced an amendment to cut aid to El Salvador in response.

On the surface it would appear that El Salvador’s Attorney General Douglas Meléndez has dealt a heavy blow to the right-wing National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, having achieved a ten-year prison sentence against former ARENA president Antonio ´Tony´ Saca, who confessed to stealing $300 million in public funds during his administration (2004-2009). But social movement activists and leaders from the governing leftist FMLN party have decried the sentence as a slap on the wrist and called for current leaders of the ARENA party to be investigated, as well.