El Salvador's new wave of political exiles say history is repeating itself
The fiercest voices of dissent against President Nayib Bukele have long feared a widespread crackdown. They weathered police raids on their homes, watched their friends being thrown into jail and jumped between safe houses so they can stay in El Salvador.
Then they received a warning: Leave immediately. It’s exile or prison.
A combination of high-profile detentions, a new “foreign agents” law, violent repression of peaceful protesters and the risk of imminent government detention has driven more than 100 political exiles to flee in recent months.
The biggest exodus of journalists, lawyers, academics, environmentalists and human rights activists in years is a dark reminder of the nation’s brutal civil war decades ago, when tens of thousands of people are believed to have escaped. Exiles who spoke to The Associated Press say they are scattered across Central America and Mexico with little more than backpacks and a lingering question of where they will end up.
https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-political-exiles-bukele-cristosal-trump-51df6af729ec51a1b82381e412dbefcc