In El Salvador a Cold Case Murder Has Become a Weapon for Silencing Environmental Activists

Drilled

Critical Frequency

True Crime, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Science

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to pass an outright ban on mining. It was an effort to protect the country's water, and its people. Now, self-proclaimed "coolest dictator in the world" Nayib Bukele wants to bring mining back to boost the economy, which took a major hit thanks to his embrace of Bitcoin as the national currency in 2021. The activists who helped pass the ban are standing in his way. The solution? Accuse them of a decades-old unsolved murder. The activists go on trial this week. Reporter Sebastian Escalon brings us this story, narrated by Yessenia Funes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:05.0	She is the last person you'd expect would need to say the words,
1:08.0	We are not terrorists.
1:10.0	But Videlina is the president of the Association of the Royal Economic and Social, or Adis, a community-based organization in Salto-Dor that carries out educational, environmental, and cultural projects.
1:22.0	The group became nationally famous for sounding the alarm
1:24.2	over mining projects that threatened El Salvador's rivers. In 2017 their years of
1:29.0	organizing helped secure a huge win. The government of El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban mining.
1:35.9	Today, Nayy Bukhili, a man who likes to call himself the coolest dictator in the world,
1:40.8	wants to reverse that ban. But first he needs to discredit the activists
1:44.9	who fought for it and he's gone about it in a strange way, accusing five leaders
1:50.0	in Addis of a decades old murder.
1:53.4	Over the past year, Vidalina has been fighting on their behalf,
1:56.6	touring radio stations and TV channels
1:59.0	to explain that these accusations are part of a smear campaign
2:02.1	meant to weaken the environmental movement.
	...

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