El Salvador's authorities have arrested a lawyer from one of the country's leading human rights organisations, in a development that critics of President Nayib Bukele say is a sign of "authoritarianism" in the Central American nation.
Ruth López is accused of embezzlement during a previous job working for an electoral court.
The Bukele critic was detained late on Sunday, according to her organisation, the NGO Cristosal.
Neither her family nor her legal team have been able to confirm her location or the conditions of her detention.
López is the head of Cristosal's anti-corruption and justice unit, which has published dozens of reports and filed legal cases related to government corruption.
Cristosal has been one of the most vocal critics of Bukele's ongoing state of emergency, which started more than three years ago as a supposedly temporary measure to fight the country's gangs.
Under the policy, some fundamental rights have been curtailed. The right to gather is restricted, while detainees can now be held for 15 days without charges.
Since Bukele launched his war against the gangs in late March 2022, some 85,000 people have been arrested, more than 1% of the country's population.
Cristosal denounced on Monday what it considers to be a "flagrant violation" of López's rights, demanding that the authorities immediately reveal her location to allay concerns about her safety.
The organisation also warned of the "growing risk" faced by human rights defenders in El Salvador, especially in a context where NGOs have come under direct criticism from President Bukele.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also expressed its "deep concern" over López's arrest.
For its part, the Attorney General's Office confirmed López's arrest in a statement, describing her as a "trusted advisor and right-hand man" of Eugenio Chicas, a former judge of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, López was allegedly involved in the "theft of public funds" during her collaboration with Chicas.
The case has raised alarm among international organisations and activists, who believe the situation reflects the deterioration of democratic guarantees and the rule of law in the Central American country.
Organisations like the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and rights groups like Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned López's detention in a joint statement on Monday that called for her immediate release.
"El Salvador’s state of exception has not only been used to address gang-related violence but also as a tool to silence critical voices," they said.
"Authoritarianism has increased in recent years as President Nayib Bukele has undermined institutions and the rule of law, and persecuted civil society organisations and independent journalists," they added.
Earlier this month, some journalists from El Faro, one of the country's leading news organisations, fled into exile over fears that the authorities would arrest them.
Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, Bukele has forged a close relationship with Washington.
In return for payment, the Salvadoran president agreed to confine hundreds of US deportees in a notorious prison in El Salvador.
