El Salvador’s Former Security Adviser Who Accused Ruling Party of Corruption Dies in Custody, Reports Reuters

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – A former national security adviser to the government of El Salvador has died while in state custody under ambiguous circumstances, according to a statement from his family on Thursday.

Alejandro Muyshondt was arrested in August on allegations of serious crimes, which President Nayib Bukele indicated on social media included leaking sensitive documents to journalists and to former leftist President Mauricio Funes, who currently resides in Nicaragua.

The prosecutor’s office reportedly informed Muyshondt’s family that he passed away in a state hospital on Wednesday, where he had been taken after suffering a stroke. A preliminary medical report indicated that his death was due to pulmonary edema, which is a fluid accumulation in the lungs.

There was no immediate response from either the prosecutor’s office or the Salvadoran government regarding the situation.

Pulmonary edema is primarily caused by heart-related issues, but it can also result from pneumonia, exposure to certain toxins, medication effects, and trauma to the chest area, according to medical sources.

Following Muyshondt’s arrest in 2023, President Bukele claimed that he had evidence suggesting Muyshondt assisted Funes in evading arrest. Funes has been accused by prosecutors of tax evasion and illicit association tied to a gang truce initiated in 2012, although he denies any negotiations with gangs.

Bukele also alleged that Muyshondt had provided leaked evidence against Congressman Erick Garcia of the ruling New Ideas party in an attempt to evade a future investigation.

Garcia was removed from Congress last August and is set to face a trial for allegedly altering official documents, although a date for the trial has not yet been determined. He could not be reached for comments on the accusations made by Muyshondt.

Muyshondt was related to Ernesto Muyshondt, a former mayor of San Salvador who is currently in a psychiatric facility and facing charges pertaining to electoral fraud, dereliction of duty, and gang affiliations.

The timing of Muyshondt’s death coincides with the recent reelection of Bukele, who has gained significant support for his aggressive approach to combating gangs, which has included mass arrests of over 76,000 individuals without due process, raising concerns about civil liberties.

Human rights organizations have expressed alarm over numerous reported deaths and allegations of torture in custody amid the gang crackdown, which has led to 218 reported deaths in two years, with 36 attributed to pulmonary edema.

The U.S. government has alleged that Bukele’s administration has formed a pact with local gangs, a claim that has been corroborated by the Salvadoran prosecutor who initially oversaw the investigation.

In December 2021, Bukele revealed WhatsApp communications in which the then-U.S. chargé d’affaires in El Salvador sought the release of Ernesto Muyshondt from custody.