The case of the Santa Marta 5: acquitted for the second time

Captured by The Salvadoran State and treated as guilty without having been tried. Five environmentalists acquitted for the second time.

By Karilyn Vides

Five environmentalists from Santa Marta were acquitted for the second time of the crime for which they had been charged, consolidating a history of repression and community struggle.

Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, inhabitants of Santa Marta and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega and Teodoro Antonio Pacheco, representatives of ADES, were arrested on January 11th, 2023, amid a context of tensions between defense of territory and extractive mining.

*Arrest of ADES’ environmental defenders on January 11, 2023.*

The final ruling, known on September 24th, 2025, concludes that there is insufficient evidence of their participation or the nature of the crime against humanity or war crime, and orders the arrest warrants to be lifted.

The case has come under intense scrutiny by human rights and justice advocates. Between 2023 and 2025, the authorities went through a twist in the judicial narrative: after an acquittal issued on October 18th, 2024 by the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court. The Prosecutor’s Office appealed and the Criminal Chamber of Cojutepeque ordered the trial to be reconsidered, giving rise to a second prosecution that, in the eyes of the organizations, violates basic principles of due process. ADES stresses that this type of process could set a worrying precedent for the protection of environmental defenders and communities against mining interests.

*The five environmental defenders are acquitted for the first time on October 18, 2024.*

Santa Marta’s defense aligns with a history of struggle for human rights and water resources in El Salvador, in which national and international actors have underpinned the need for judicial transparency and protection of environmental defenders. This case underscores the importance of monitoring the link between justice and extractive projects, and of expanding the historical memory of massacres during the civil war in El Salvador and the violence associated with mining.

For all the nuances, listen to the full episode on Spotify, where we break down documents, timelines, and the key testimony from Chico, the ADES’s director and one of the Santa Marta Five.