Nine Democratic members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking him to press for the immediate release of Salvadoran human rights lawyer Ruth López.
The lawmakers called on Rubio to advocate actively for her freedom. They also asked him to direct a U.S. embassy representative in El Salvador to visit her in detention and to apply human rights sanctions to bar entry to the United States for officials responsible for her arrest and continued imprisonment.
López, 48, heads the anti-corruption and justice unit at Cristosal, a regional human rights organization. Salvadoran authorities arrested her at her home in San Salvador on May 18, 2025. They initially charged her with embezzlement linked to her past advisory work with government institutions and later shifted the case to allegations of illicit enrichment. The proceedings remain under judicial seal.
She has spent more than 400 days in pretrial detention as of late June 2026. An initial six-month pretrial detention order was extended by another six months. No trial date has been set, and a preliminary hearing has not taken place.
The letter states that the circumstances of her arrest and irregularities in the proceedings show she was detained in retaliation for exposing corruption and advocating against human rights violations. It describes the case as marked by secrecy, denial of due process, and disregard for her health and well-being.
Human rights organizations have raised repeated concerns about restricted access to her family and legal team, periods of isolation, and reports of inadequate medical care. Her family learned of a recent medical procedure only after it occurred. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures requiring protections for her life, physical integrity, and health, along with regular contact with her lawyers. Cristosal and her relatives say the measures have not been fully followed.
Amnesty International has described López as a prisoner of conscience and called for her immediate and unconditional release. It has urged Salvadoran authorities to end violations of her due process rights and incommunicado detention.
The nine lawmakers who signed the letter include Senators Chris Van Hollen and Tim Kaine and Representatives James McGovern, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. They wrote that the case illustrates how El Salvador’s state of exception has been used to target dissenting voices. They stated that U.S. support for human rights defenders should not depend on political views of the government holding them.
Salvadoran authorities have said López faces legitimate charges for alleged financial misconduct from her earlier government advisory roles. They have not issued a public response to the congressional letter.
López’s husband, Luis Benavides, has spoken publicly about the family’s limited information on her condition and legal status. International groups, including the Washington Office on Latin America, have tracked the case since her arrest and continue to call for due process and her release.
The State Department has not announced any response to the letter or any embassy visit as of June 27, 2026. The Salvadoran judicial process continues without a set trial date.
