Corruption In El Salvador
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Corruption in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
is a problem at all levels of government, however, according to a poll conducted by the Cid-Gallup in February 2023, only 4 percent of Salvadorans believed corruption as the most pressing issue facing the country.


Government corruption


Presidential corruption

On 6 September 2014, former President
Francisco Flores Pérez Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez (17 October 1959 – 30 January 2016) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ...
(1999–2004) was arrested on corruption charges for allegedly misappropriating US$15 million during his presidency. In December 2015, he was charged with embezzlement and illicit enrichment and was ordered to stand trial, but he died in January 2016 before his trial started. In 2021, he was named in the
Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 ...
as having used companies in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
and the
British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...
to hide funds. On 10 February 2016, former President
Mauricio Funes Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (18 October 1959 – 21 January 2025) was a Salvadoran politician and journalist who served as the 79th president of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of t ...
(2009–2014) was ordered by the Supreme Court to stand trial for alleged illegal enrichment after he was unable to verify the source of US$700,000 in his personal bank accounts. He was found guilty of illegal enrichment on 28 November 2017 and was ordered to pay US$420,000. Overall, Funes has been accused of embezzling US$351 million during his presidency. On 23 February 2023, a judge ordered Funes to stand trial for allegedly laundering US$8.4 million through a Guatemalan company. Funes remains in exile in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
after he was granted asylum in September 2016. In October 2016, Former President
Antonio Saca Elías Antonio "Tony" Saca González (born 9 March 1965) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1 June 2004 to 1 June 2009. He is currently serving a minimum 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Early li ...
(2004–2009) was arrested on corruption charges. On 12 September 2018, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after he pled guilty to embezzling and laundering US$300 million of public funds during his presidency. He was ordered to pay US$260 million. On 19 September 2019, he was sentenced to an additional two years imprisonment for attempting to bribe a court official with US$10,000 for information regarding the initial corruption case against him. On 5 January 2021, he was found guilty of illicit enrichment and was ordered to pay an additional US$4.4 million. In May 2021, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
named five members of President
Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 81st president of El Salvador since 2019. In 1999, Bukele established an advertising company and worked at an advertising com ...
's government as being corrupt. On 22 July 2021, the Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado ordered the arrest of former President
Salvador Sánchez Cerén Salvador Sánchez Cerén (; born 18 June 1944), also known by his Leonel González, is a Salvadoran former politician, guerrilla commander, and school teacher who served as the 80th president of El Salvador from 2014 to 2019. He took office ...
(2014–2019) as a part of a corruption probe. He was charged with embezzlement, money laundering, and illegal enrichment during his presidency. Sánchez Cerén remains in exile in Nicaragua. In October 2021, former President
Alfredo Cristiani Alfredo Félix Cristiani Burkard (born 22 November 1947) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994. Life and career Born into a wealthy family in San Salvador, his father Felix Cristiani was an Italian im ...
(1989–1994) was named in the Pandora Papers as having used companies in Panama and the British Virgin Islands to hide funds. In June 2023, Cristiani's properties were raided and seized by the office of the attorney general as a part of a " war against corruption".


Negotiations with gangs

Salvadoran politicians from the
Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance (, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itse ...
(ARENA), the
Grand Alliance for National Unity The Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA; ) is a political party in El Salvador. The party established itself on 16 January 2010 and was recognized by the Supreme Electoral Court of El Salvador on 19 May of the same year. The majority of pa ...
(GANA),
Nuevas Ideas Nuevas Ideas (; abbreviated N or NI) is the current ruling political party of El Salvador. The party was founded on 25 October 2017 by Nayib Bukele, the then-mayor of San Salvador, and was registered by the Supreme Electoral Court (El Salvado ...
(NI), and the
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (, abbreviated FMLN) is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist guerrilla organizations; ...
(FMLN) have been accused of paying criminal gangs (
Mara Salvatrucha Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area ...
and
18th Street gang The 18th Street Gang, also known as , , , or simply in North America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Culture of Mexico, Mexican) street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest street gangs in Los Angeles, with around 30 ...
) to support their electoral campaigns. Criminal gangs were also known for organizing extortion schemes. Funes' government organized a truce between the government and the gangs to lower the country's crime rate between 2012 and 2014. Funes has denied ever granting the gangs "perks" during the truce. On 23 July 2020, David Munguía Payés, a former
Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
(2009–2011, 2013–2019), was arrested for allegedly negotiating a truce with gangs to reduce crime. In September 2020, the news website '' El Faro'' accused Bukele of secretly negotiating with gangs to lower the country's murder rate in exchange for better prison conditions. Bukele denied the accusations and launched an investigation into ''El Faro'' for money laundering. In December 2021, the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
also accused Bukele of negotiating with gangs to lower the murder rate, which Bukele again denied. On 4 June 2021, Ernesto Muyshondt, a former mayor of San Salvador (2018–2021), was arrested under suspicion of having committed electoral fraud and illegal negotiations with criminal gangs to gain votes for ARENA in the 2014 presidential election. On November 11, 2022, former San Salvador mayor Norman Quijano (2012–2015) was ordered to stand trial for allegedly offering favors to criminal gangs in exchange for their support during his 2014 presidential campaign. In April 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to 13 years and 4 months in prison for illicit negotiations and electoral fraud. However, the ruling is under review by the Penal Chamber of El Salvador’s Supreme Court, and his legal team has filed an appeal. Quijano and his attorneys contend that the proceedings were politically motivated and argue that his parliamentary immunity, as a representative to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), was improperly revoked by the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly. Critics of the case claim the judiciary has increasingly come under the influence of the ruling party.


Other cases

In October 2021, two deputies of the Legislative Assembly, José Ilofio García Torres and Gerardo Balmore Aguilar Soriano, were accused of "conspiracy against the political institution" for allegedly being bribed with "perks" such as
U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...
by the embassy of the United States in San Salvador to fracture 15 to 25 deputies of Nuevas Ideas to oppose Bukele's political agenda. The U.S. embassy denied the allegations. In February 2023, García Torres was sentenced to three years imprisonment for corruption.


Anti-corruption efforts

On 6 September 2019, Bukele announced the establishment of the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES) ( es) as a joint effort with the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
(OAS) to combat corruption, drug trafficking, and white collar crimes in the country. CICIES would cooperate with the anti-corruption unit of the National Civil Police (PNC). CICIES was dissolved on 4 June 2021 by the Salvadoran government in protest of the OAS' decision to appoint Muyshondt as an anti-corruption advisor.


Corruption Perceptions Index

The following graph and table display's El Salvador's placement and score in
Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
's ''
Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...
'' (CPI) since 1998, the first year the country was included in the index. In the Corruption Perceptions Indexes of 1998 to 2011, countries were scored on a scale from 0 ("perceived as highly corrupt") to 10 ("perceived as very clean"). The rank in the Index was computed separately from the score. In the methodology used to create these Indexes, the ranks and scores were not intended to be compared from year to year; a country's rank or score in a given year's Index is meaningful only in relation the ranks and scores of other countries that year. ; Rank by year ; Score by year Starting in 2012, a different methodology was used to create the CPI. The 1998-2011 Corruption Perception Indexes are therefore not directly comparable with the Indexes of 2012 and after. To underline the difference between the two sets of Indexes, those of 2012 and after score countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), in contrast to the 0 to 10 scale of the 1998-2011 Indexes. The countries are then ranked by score; the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. Scores computed for the 2012 CPI and afterwards can be meaningfully compared from year to year, as long as the year is 2012 or later


References

{{North America topic, Corruption in Crime in El Salvador Politics of El Salvador
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
Law of El Salvador Economy of El Salvador Government of El Salvador Society of El Salvador