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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador . El Salvador's ruling party, Nuevas Ideas, has appointed Raquel Caballero . She is a conservative Christian lawyer who has been criticized in the past for violating the rights of the LGBTI population.

Prominent activists and human rights defenders criticized Caballero's appointment. They believe it will lead to a stagnation of the rights of LGBTI people, women, and vulnerable population groups.

This is not the first time the lawyer – who also presents herself as a "personal coach" on her Twitter account – has been elected to the state institution. Her first appointment was between 2016 and 2019, and she was promoted by the far-right Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. 

Her tenure was plagued by accusations of nepotism. In 2019, she was sanctioned by the Government Ethics Tribunal for irregular hiring and promotions of family members within the institution. 

He marginalized LGBT people

LGBTI human rights groups remember her as an official who marginalized and discarded the progress made by associations in previous administrations.

In 2012, the Attorney General's Office established a permanent working group on the human rights of the LGBTI population. According to two organizations consulted, Caballero refused to meet with them and continue the forum that served as a space for dialogue and debate. 

Despite these accusations, the ruling party of President Nayib Bukele elected her last week for the 2022-2025 term.

“She was already in the position and definitely didn’t leave a good taste in our mouths because it wasn’t possible to work hand in hand with her when she was at the PDDH,” Mónica Linares, director of the Solidarity Association to Promote Human Development – ​​ASPIDH Arcoíris Trans, told Presentes. 

Attorney General violated right to protest

In September 2017, Caballero presented his first year in office report. However, in his speech, he took credit for the achievements of his predecessor. He also lied about the results of his advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

At that moment, activist Karla Avelar - along with other colleagues - stood up to protest, forming a human chain.

When the then Attorney General finished her speech, Avelar and Caballero confronted each other shouting, so the official asked for police intervention.

“That day, in addition to feeling anger, I felt fear because she immediately called security; she herself gave the order to call security. I felt fear, frustration, and indignation because a human rights ombudsperson was denying us the right to express our feelings,” Avelar told Presentes.

Accomplice of the state of emergency

Raquel Caballero was appointed with 67 out of a possible 84 votes in Congress. Opponents of the ruling party believe her appointment will serve to endorse and cover up human rights violations committed during the state of emergency declared to combat gangs.

“They don’t seek to place suitable people in these positions who will come there to safeguard the rights of the population, nor to fulfill their legally mandated duties. They place officials who will come to these positions to endorse the abuses of power by the government in power,” Anabel Belloso, a congresswoman from the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), told the press. 

The controversy surrounding his appointment went beyond social media complaints and forced President Nayib Bukele to justify his choice in a live broadcast. Bukele did so flanked by high-ranking military and police officers. Guevara expressed his support for the security policies implemented by Bukele.

Bukele defended the security policies implemented during the six months of the state of emergency, which has resulted in the detention of more than 54,000 people without a warrant. At least 80 of these detentions have ended in death inside prisons.

Presentes was unable to obtain a response from the new Human Rights Ombudsman (PDDH).

“I believe that making the decision to elect her was arbitrary and disrespectful to the rights of LGBTI people specifically. We will seek dialogue, and ultimately, time will tell, but personally, I don't think there will be any progress with her,” Linares stated.

Prisons full of people held without trial

Since the state of emergency began on March 27, prisons in El Salvador have been overcrowded with detainees accused of collaborating with or belonging to the violent gangs Mara Salvatrucha MS-13 and its rival Barrio 18. 

Sources consulted by Presentes commented that overcrowding within prisons during the special regime is unsustainable. Each cell holds between 130 and 140 people who must share sleeping space; bathrooms are also used as bedrooms.

The effectiveness of the Territorial Control Plan was called into question on March 26, when 62 people were murdered, the highest number this century, according to human rights defenders. In 72 hours, 87 people lost their lives in alleged gang attacks.

“Her election will serve to legitimize the actions the government is taking and will allow the current government to have control within the human rights ombudsman's office,” said renowned activist Karla Avelar.

"She will do whatever the president orders her to do."

The president asked his deputies to approve an emergency regime of exception, which temporarily suspends constitutional rights such as free association, the inviolability of communications and correspondence, detention by the police or military and the annulment of legal defense.

Bukele announced during the broadcast that he would allow observers into prisons to verify “respect for the human rights of detainees.” The previous Attorney General, Apolonio Tobar, visited one of the prisons in a failed attempt to quell allegations of human rights violations. At the end of his term, the report of his visit was not made public.

“She will do whatever the president orders. She will go as far as the president allows her to go; she will do nothing to clarify the human rights violations that are occurring under this state of emergency. She will do nothing about the deaths that have occurred in the prisons. She will do the bare minimum,” Avelar emphasized.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed its concern on Tuesday in Geneva about the impacts of the state of emergency on respect for the human rights of the population and the "progressive loss of independence" of the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office and its "lack of reaction to human rights violations."