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Thursday, April 16, 2026

The announcement by Nayib Bukele to reactivate mining in El Salvador marks a dangerous shift that deepens patterns of environmental harm, dispossession, and violence, raising alarm among communities and environmental defenders. In this context, the agroecological production project of MUFRAS-32 in San Isidro was deliberately attacked and set on fire, destroying infrastructure, crops, and irrigation systems that had sustained community work for decades. Local activists point to this attack as part of a broader pattern of escalating pressure linked to government interests in reopening mining operations in the region.

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Mass mobilisations against the reactivation of mining in El Salvador took place in January 2025 (left). Photo: Víctor Peña, El Faro. Destruction of the agroecological project caused by arson attacks in San Isidro, Cabañas, El Salvador, on 26 February 2026 (right). Photo: MUFRAS-32.
Mass mobilisations against the reactivation of mining in El Salvador took place in January 2025 (left). Photo: Víctor Peña, El Faro. Destruction of the agroecological project caused by arson attacks in San Isidro, Cabañas, El Salvador, on 26 February 2026 (right). Photo: MUFRAS-32.

In the early hours of February 26, 2026, the agroecological production project of our member organization, Movimiento Unificado Francisco Sánchez-1932 (MUFRAS-32), in San Isidro, Cabañas, was deliberately attacked and set on fire. The arson destroyed productive infrastructure, crops, and irrigation systems that had sustained the community’s work for decades.

From ESCR-Net, we express our deep concern and full solidarity with MUFRAS-32 and the communities of San Isidro in the face of this violent attack. According to information shared by the organization, unknown individuals intentionally set fire to a community-managed agroecological farm, causing severe material and collective harm.

For more than 25 years, this project has represented a community-based alternative to extractivist models, promoting agroecology, food sovereignty, environmental protection, and grassroots organizing. It has generated local employment, provided technical training for rural women and youth, protected biodiversity, and ensured access to water for surrounding communities. Beyond its productive role, the project embodies a collective political vision rooted in care, autonomy, and territorial defense.

This attack cannot be understood as an isolated incident. The department of Cabañas has long been a site of conflict between communities defending their territories and extractive interests, particularly in relation to metallic mining. For years, organizations like MUFRAS-32 have opposed mining projects due to their harmful impacts on water sources, ecosystems, and rural livelihoods.

The attack also occurs in a shifting political context. Recent efforts to reopen the door to metallic mining in El Salvador have raised serious concerns among communities and environmental defenders. These developments have been accompanied by increased risks of intimidation, violence, and forced displacement. Members of MUFRAS-32, including environmental defenders Zenayda Serrano and Héctor Berríos, have been forced into exile after facing persecution linked to their opposition to extractive projects.

 

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Zenayda Serrano and Héctor Berríos, members of MUFRAS-32, were forced into exile in Spain, where they became the first Salvadoran environmental defenders to be granted asylum in that country, after facing persecution for opposing the reactivation of metallic mining promoted by the Bukele government.

Concerns about the attack have also been echoed at the international level. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, stated on April 15 that she had received alarming information about the arson attack and called on Salvadoran authorities to carry out a thorough investigation to ensure that the crime does not go unpunished.

This case reflects a broader pattern of criminalization, harassment, and repression of environmental defenders in El Salvador. Communities that organize to protect their territories and propose alternative models of development are increasingly confronted with violence, surveillance, and shrinking civic space.

The destruction of this agroecological project constitutes a direct attack on the exercise of economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, including the rights to food, work, water, and a healthy environment.

We call on the Salvadoran State to:

  • Immediately conduct a thorough, independent, and impartial investigation into the attack and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
  • Guarantee that members of MUFRAS-32 can safely report these acts and access justice without fear of reprisals.
  • Adopt effective protection measures for land and environmental defenders in Cabañas and across the country.

As an emblematic case, this attack highlights the urgent need to address the human rights impacts of extractive models and to ensure the protection of those defending life, water, and territory.

We reaffirm our full solidarity with MUFRAS-32 and the communities of San Isidro, who continue to defend their territories and build alternative futures grounded in environmental justice.