Bukele announces 30% tax on NGOs in El Salvador

On Tuesday, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, announced the draft Law of Foreign Agents, which will impose a 30% tax on the donations received by NGOs operating in the country.

The president's decision comes after several environmental and human rights organizations condemned the "arbitrary" detention of environmental lawyer Alejandro Henríquez on Tuesday.

"I have decided to send to the Legislative Assembly the bill for the Foreign Agents Law, which will include a 30% tax on all donations" received by such organizations in the country, the governor said on his X account.

Bukele did not offer more details about the bill, which is expected to be approved in the next few days by Congress. A similar bill was presented in 2021, but it was not submitted for approval.

Demonstrations in San Salvador

Lawyer Henríquez was arrested on charges of public disorder after participating in a demonstration on Monday along a highway near President Bukele's home, located on the southwestern outskirts of San Salvador.

During the demonstration, some participants clashed with riot police and Armed Forces personnel.

The demonstrators called on the president to intervene and prevent the eviction of approximately 300 families from a farmers' cooperative on private property on the outskirts of Santa Tecla, in the west of the country.

Bukele: "The only real objective is to attack the government"

Bukele stated that the "humble people" who participated in the protest were "manipulated" by leftist "groups" and "globalist NGOs, whose only real objective is to attack the government."

The president emphasized that the NGO tax will help "find a real solution" to the issue faced by the cooperative families.