El Salvador president orders arrest of bus company heads for defying free ride policy

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele ordered police via social media on Monday to arrest five heads of bus companies in the Central American country after they defied his order to offer free transport for a week following a major highway closure.

The order was another example of Bukele’s heavy-handed tactics. The second-term leader has been accused of undermining democratic institutions, punishing dissenters and denying access to due process under a “state of emergency” that he declared in 2022 to battle the country’s powerful street gangs. Despite the crackdown, the government has denied the country is a police state.

On Sunday, Bukele had announced via X that all bus fares for a week would be completely free due to construction the government was carrying out on one of the main highways running through San Salvador.

The order resulted in widespread chaos on Monday, fueling long bus lines in the Salvadoran capital and overcrowded buses that skipped stops on a number of routes.

In response, Bukele ordered the capture of five heads of bus companies Monday, accusing them of “sabotaging the country.” He claimed that the government was covering “100% of the income they normally receive per day,” but The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the information with bus drivers.

“The National Civil Police should proceed with the arrest of the owners of the routes involved,” Bukele wrote on a social media post. “No one is above the law.”

Later Monday, the country’s federal police department posted photos of the handcuffed men surrounded by heavily armed officers, saying they had been detained for “breach of duty, denial of assistance, and extortion,” providing few details on their arrests.

The National Transportation Committee, which represents the companies involved, said in a statement that they were surprised by the arrests. They blamed confusion on some routes on the fact that the free rides had been announced just a day earlier and they weren’t able to notify everyone.

Luis Regalado, a member of the trade group, said that many of the drivers are paid daily and were unclear on how they would be paid or by whom.

Lucio Vázquez, the group’s secretary, appealed to Bukele, saying they had been partners with his administration. “We are not saying that we’re not going to continue giving free service,” he said.

It comes as Bukele has gained an international spotlight for detaining more than 200 Venezuelan deportees from the U.S. in a “mega-prison” for gangs despite objections by American judges and human rights groups.

Lawyers contracted by the Venezuelan government asked Bukele on Monday for access to the imprisoned Venezuelans to have “proof of life” of the men who have been held incommunicado since they were delivered by the U.S. government in March.

In a letter sent to Bukele’s office, they asked to be able to interview each of the Venezuelan prisoners. They also asked fundamental questions including what crimes they had been charged with and under whose jurisdiction they are.

The Trump administration had alleged the men were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. But in many cases the men had no apparent criminal history and relatives denied they had any gang ties.

Bukele last month offered the Venezuelan government the men in exchange for the release of an equal number of “political prisoners.” Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro rejected the proposal.

The lawyers had previously filed habeas corpus petitions for 30 of the Venezuelans.

Bukele, who has soaring popularity in El Salvador because of his harsh crackdown on the country’s gangs, has faced sharp criticism for years by global leaders, lawyers and human rights groups, which accuse him of denying citizens due process, violating the country’s constitution by seeking reelection and consolidating power.