Der mit Trump ernannte Diplomat beschuldigt, den Präsidenten von El Salvador vor Strafverfolgung abgeschirmt zu haben

A previously undisclosed State Department report and interviews reveal accusations that U.S. Ambassador Ronald D. Johnson shielded Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele from U.S. and Salvadoran law enforcement.

In 2020, Salvadoran authorities had intercepted a conversation between a journalist and a U.S. embassy contractor about corruption among high-level aides to the president, according to the report from the State Department’s inspector general.

The contractor had collaborated with U.S. and Salvadoran investigators who were targeting Bukele’s inner circle. Over the previous year, he had helped an FBI-led task force uncover a suspected alliance between the Bukele government and the MS-13 street gang, former U.S. officials told us. The information posed a threat to the Salvadoran government.

Bukele wanted the contractor out of the country and, in Johnson, he had a powerful American friend. After Bukele provided Johnson with the recordings, the ambassadorimmediately ordered an investigation that resulted in the contractor’s dismissal, the State investigative general report said. Bukele has denied negotiating with gangs.

Johnson’s friendship with Bukele troubled top State Department officials in the Biden administration, who asked his successor, Jean Manes, to look into the firing of the contractor. 

“Manes explained that [the contractor] was working on anti-corruption cases against individuals close to El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Manes believed removing [him] was a way to ensure the investigations stopped,” the report said.

A State Department spokesperson said it was “false” that Johnson had blocked or impeded any law enforcement efforts in order to protect Bukele or his allies and that the allegations made by Manes in the inspector general report were untrue.

“Our cordial relationship was based on honest and frank dialogue to advance issues of mutual benefit for both of our nations,” Johnson said. “President Bukele has continued to maintain widespread popularity and high approval ratings in his homeland. He transformed El Salvador from the murder capital of the world to one of the safest countries worldwide.”

The dismissal of the contractor was part of a pattern in which Johnson has been accused of shielding Bukele from U.S. and Salvadoran law enforcement, ProPublica found.

Read our full story: [https://www.propublica.org/article/ambassador-ronald-johnson-nayib-bukele-trump-el-salvador](https://www.propublica.org/article/ambassador-ronald-johnson-nayib-bukele-trump-el-salvador) 

Spokespeople for the Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred questions to the State Department. The Salvadoran government did not respond to requests for comment. Manes declined to comment for this article.