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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Nina Lakhani in Mexico City

Salvadoran environmental defenders detained for decades-old crimes

Nayib Bukele Mining El Salvador
Nayib Bukele and a military officer.
El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, is under pressure to find new revenue streams after his embrace of cryptocurrency failed spectacularly. Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images

Five prominent environmental defenders who played a crucial role in securing a historic mining ban in El Salvador have been detained accused of civil war era and gang-related crimes, in what rights groups fear is a ruse to restart mining.

Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Antonio Pacheco and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega were detained on Wednesday in Cabañas in northern El Salvador, accused of killing an alleged army informant more than 33 years ago during the brutal civil war that claimed 75,000 lives.

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