Salvadoran News Outlet Reports Asset Freeze on Two Members

A Salvadoran investigative news outlet announced Thursday that assets belonging to two of its members, including a bank account and property, were frozen. The outlet said it learned of the action through the bank and property registry rather than through formal government notification.

The outlet's director said the move represented another level of attack with a clear purpose. He stated that the action was not a fiscal measure. The outlet has publicly disputed with the government over its investigations into corruption during the current administration, including revelations that the administration negotiated with gangs.

The latest development comes shortly after the outlet released a documentary with PBS Frontline about those gang negotiations.

The president rose to power in 2019 on an anti-corruption platform. His administration has faced criticism from human rights groups over a four-year state of exception that has resulted in more than 91,000 imprisonments. The outlet has been subject to ongoing audits by Salvadoran authorities since 2020. Authorities allege the outlet evaded $200,000 in taxes, an assertion the outlet has denied.

Pegasus spyware was detected on more than 20 of its journalists' iPhones in 2022, according to the outlet. Its journalists sued NSO Group in U.S. federal court later that year. In 2023, the outlet moved its headquarters to Costa Rica because of what it described as a repressive climate, and all its members currently live in exile outside El Salvador.

The practice of launching audits and confiscating assets has been used in other parts of the region to intimidate critics. Bukele’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he has called the outlet’s reporting “fake news” in the past.