The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
September 16, 2025

On El Salvador's Independence Day, Protesters Demand Release of Jailed Human Rights Defenders
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In El Salvador, protesters took to the streets Monday to demand the
release of activists and human rights defenders jailed by President
Nayib Bukele, a staunch ally of President Trump. The protests came as El
Salvador marked its 204th Independence Day celebrations. This is
opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz.

Claudia Ortiz: "El Salvador is on the path to an authoritarian system,
an authoritarian system where the state is more important than the
individual. And that should not be the case. The state exists to serve
the individual, their dignity and their freedom. The state must provide
legal certainty. But in El Salvador, the opposite is true."



.