Recent news
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| San Salvador fire |
A collection of recent news from El Salvador.
Fire in San Salvador Claims Five Lives in Historic District Blaze (Tico Times, Feb. 14, 2026) -- A major fire in the historic center of San Salvador killed five as it tore through warehouse space, business and residences. The burned-out block is two blocks south of Plaza Libertad, part of the zone gradually being gentrified into a tourist destination by the current government. (More at EDH).
Shakira’s 5-show El Salvador residency fuels Bukele’s push to remake the country’s image (AP, Feb. 13, 2026) -- A five-concert “residency” by singer-songwriter and superstar Shakira in El Salvador’s capital builds on Nayib Bukele ’s years long effort to use events such as surfing competitions and the Miss Universe pageant to mold the Central American country’s international image as a safe tourist destination.
Trump to host Latin American leaders in Miami on March 7 (AFP, Feb. 12, 2026) -- Donald Trump will host Latin American leaders invited from Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, El Salvador, Ecuador and Honduras at a summit in Miami later this year, a White House official told AFP. Some of the leaders, like Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei, are firm Trump allies. A report in Argentine media said that the summit would focus on countering China, a major Latin American trading partner. [El Salvador has received large donations from China including the new National Library, a pier in La Libertad, and a $100 million soccer stadium under construction].
Teen boys reunited with their mother 5 months after immigration raid (Syracuse.com Feb. 12, 2026) -- Tow boys were reunited with their mother, who had been seized in an immigration raid at a candy factory, despite having legal persmission to work and a pending asylum case. After a month in detention, she decided to self-deport. Her boys had to decide whether to stay in the US or go to El Salvador to join her.
El Salvador’s attorney general freezes a money‑laundering investigation into Venezuelan oil funds that implicates Nayib Bukele (El Pais, Feb. 9, 2026) -- El Salvador’s attorney general and trusted ally of President Nayib Bukele, Rodolfo Delgado, has frozen a money‑laundering investigation into Alba Petróleos de El Salvador, a company financed with Venezuelan government funds whose operations extend to bank accounts linked to the president. Documents from the Attorney General’s Office show that Bukele received roughly $3.3 million — both personally and through three companies belonging to his family group — originating from Venezuelan oil money.
How “Foreign Agent” Laws Harm Freedom (Institute for War & Peace Reporting, Feb. 13, 2026) -- “Since it came into force in June 2025, El Salvador’s Foreign Agents Law has contributed to a significant crackdown on independent media, forcing a substantial number of journalists and media professionals into exile,” said Dhaniella Falk, IWPR Latin America and the Caribbean program director. “For at least five years, Salvadoran society has faced shrinking access to information and civic oversight amid growing government opacity,” Falk continued. “The Foreign Agents Law arose in this context and has further deepened these restrictions, accelerating the erosion of independent information, civic participation, and human rights defense.”
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