(Español Abajo) In 2017, El Salvador approved a law banning metallic mining after a long struggle alongside various communities, environmental organizations, social organizations, and international solidarity. Ultimately, history was made as El Salvador became the first country to prohibit the practice of mining. More information can be found in The Guardian. US-El Salvador Sister Cities, […]
On November 27th, 2024, Bukele took to twitter to announce his support for a return to gold mining, stating that “God placed a gigantic treasure under our feet.” For El Salvador, the first country to ban metallic mining, this represents a significant and concerning policy shift. The lifting of the mining ban is widely opposed […]
(Español abajo) On November 5th, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. With 50.2% of the popular vote compared to Harris’ 48.2%, Trump’s win was a decisive comeback from his loss in 2020 (Associated Press). We know that a second Trump presidency will be felt across the country, […]
*Español abajo* The following message is from CRIPDES to the international community regarding the current realities in El Salvador. CRIPDES denounces to the international community the democratic deterioration El Salvador is going through after a flawed electoral process, full of irregularities and that strengthens an authoritarian system that, in addition to controlling the three branches […]
(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 […]
(Español abajo) Greetings Friends of Sister Cities, US-El Salvador Sister Cities wishes you a peaceful holiday season. During the Salvadoran civil war, Salvadoran organizers from our primary partner CRIPDES recognized the need for grassroots international solidarity to stop the Salvadoran and US governments’ violence. It was their organizing that led to the formation of US-El […]
San Salvador, November 28, 2023. Social organizations in El Salvador face some of the harshest realities since the signing of the Peace Accords: elimination of spaces for citizen participation, obstacles to their legalization, harassment in social networks, censorship, blockades, police harassment and threats of closure are some of the patterns identified.
(Español abajo) In the 1980’s, US-El Salvador Sister Cities members organized in support of the right of Salvadorans to safely return to their places of origin in the midst of the US-backed Salvadoran Army’s vicious attacks on civilians and rebel combatants that resulted in multiple massacres of Salvadoran civilians. These atrocities, carried out with US […]
(español abajo) We invite you to read an op-ed in the Progressive Magazine written by long-time Sister Cities’ organizer Marc Rosenthal. The article is titled “Biden’s Nomination of Elliott Abrams Ignores a Violent Past: Diplomacy should be guided by individuals who prioritize human rights, not by a political operative who enabled a massacre in El […]
(Español abajo) Written by the National Gathering Planning Team: Emma Folkerts, Sheila Brady, Olivia Petipas, Jon Falk, Stephanie Koontz, Jacey Anderson, and Zulma Tobar The 2023 National Gathering was held via Zoom on October 7 and 8. Over 50 people attended and more than 10 people helped facilitate and take notes. If you were able […]