El Faro, a Salvadoran online digital newspaper, announced that it would move its administrative and legal operations to Costa Rica due to the lack of conditions for its company to remain in El Salvador. The newspaper has been operating in El Salvador for 25 years as a private Salvadoran company under the administrative name Trípode S.A. de C.V.
However, due to the “dismantling of democracy” during the presidency of Nayib Bukele, El Faro has been forced to move its operations to another Central American country.
El Faro clarified that it would continue to carry out its journalistic work in El Salvador and that its newsroom would remain there. Nonetheless, the newspaper attributes its forced move to the “dismantling of democracy,” the lack of checks and balances on the exercise of power, the attacks against press freedom, and the shuttering of all transparency and accountability mechanisms that gravely threaten Salvadorans’ right to be informed while considerable public resources are allotted to disseminating propaganda and disinformation.
In addition to the lack of conditions for the newspaper to operate in El Salvador, the media outlet has also suffered from campaigns to “defame and discredit El Faro and its employees.” They have even experienced physical surveillance, threats, spyware attacks, and harassment.
The president of El Salvador even used state television and radio to falsely accuse them of money laundering. El Faro responded by appealing multiple Treasury Ministry audits and fabricated criminal accusations in different administrative forums and courtrooms. However, they claim that in El Salvador, there is no longer a separation of powers, and the government controls the judicial apparatus, making it difficult for them to defend themselves.
El Faro denounced the criminalization of journalism and the weakening of democratic institutions in several Central American countries, including El Salvador. They emphasized that they cannot operate in a country where the government does not respect freedom of the press and attempts to silence those who report on the government’s actions.
The newspaper chose Costa Rica as its new home because it is a “Central American neighbor where there is still a separation of powers and respect for the rule of law.” They emphasized that they would continue to work as they have historically, providing their readers with the intellectual tools to form a better society, which is why they had to leave El Salvador.
El Faro’s forced move highlights the importance of freedom of the press and the role of independent media in promoting transparency and accountability in democratic societies.
As El Faro stated, “We want a peaceful and more democratic Central America rooted in the exchange of ideas, inclusion, justice, accountability, equal opportunity, and creativity.” The move to Costa Rica is a testament to their commitment to these values and their determination to continue their journalistic work despite the challenges they face.
