Author Archives: Jacey Anderson

Meet Kelly!

(español abajo) Kelly is our newest staff. About Kelly Kelly Calles started to work with Sister Cities in April 2024. She has an International Affairs degree, she has participated in several training courses on human rights, governance and democracy. In 2022 she joined civil society organizations to promote democracy. She has participated in several electoral […]

Increased Militarization in Chalatenango

(español abajo) On March 25, the Bukele government deployed 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 police across several communities in Chalatenango in response to two homicides. US-El Salvador Sister Cities is concerned with militarization in one of the historically most organized areas of El Salvador.  Community members in San Jose Las Flores have shared that there is […]

Remembering El Mozote // Recordando a El Mozote

(español abajo) Today and tomorrow mark 42 years since the atrocities of El Mozote.  On December 11 and 12, 1981, over 800 men, women, and children–all civilians–were killed by the Salvadoran Army in what is now considered to be one of the worst massacres of the twentieth century in Latin America.  The battalion that was […]

Remembering Oscar Romero

As many of you may already know, last year we encouraged folks from our network to raise money (any amount!) for our Romero fundraiser. And they sure did deliver! From a walk-a-thon to brunch with friends, from a basketball statistics bet (March madness is upon us…) to a stations of the cross display that Madison […]

El Salvador’s State of Emergency: Opinion Piece from Al Jazeera News

(EN ESPAÑOL ABAJO) El Salvador: A state of emergency indeed With a new state of emergency, any residual hint of civil liberties has been suspended in ‘the world’s coolest dictatorship’. Belen Fernandez Contributing editor at Jacobin Magazine. Published On 6 Apr 20226 Apr 2022 Read post on Al Jazeera News Here On Saturday, March 26, […]

U.S. Committees send letter of solidarity to sistered communities

Context/Contexto  Back in December, we drafted a letter for U.S. committees and National Members to sign and share with our sistered communities in El Salvador. After gathering signatures, Zulma and Mario worked with CRIPDES to distribute the message below to our communities. // En diciembre, escribimos una carta para que los comités y miembros nacionales […]

Sister Cities Responds to Honduras Solidarity Network’s Call to Action

The Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) has been busy this week asking for support surrounding the trial of eight water defenders from Guapinol, Honduras. These activists have spent two years in prison on trumped up charges for defending the Guapinol and Sand Pedro rivers from a mining operation led by Honduran mining company Inversiones Los Pinares, […]

2021 National Gathering Summary

If you’ve been following our blog and are subscribed to our listserv, you know this year has been particularly challenging for the Salvadoran social movement as the Bukele administration grew increasingly authoritarian throughout the year. Nevertheless, last weekend our network met virtually for our annual National Gathering. We had over 50 participants throughout Saturday and […]

Search Warrants of NGOs Update and Solidarity Statement

This post is an update on the events that unfolded on November 22, where NGOs were targeted and searched by the National Police at District Attorney of El Salvador. These were some of the first actions observed since the Foreign Agents Law was proposed, where the Bukele Administration began to require a 40% tax from […]

Bukele Deputies Open the Door to Prison Sentences for Those Organizing Marches

Lawyers suggest that they are “criminalizing social protest” and establishing a “regime of exception” or state of siege in El Salvador.   Artículo original en español aquí. Written by Eugenia Velásquez of elsalvador.com Translated by Sister Cities   On Wednesday, the Legislative Assembly approved a new initiative similar to the one that they recently extended […]