Construction of a landfill is continuing in the rural community of San Francisco Ángulo, El Salvador, on a site that residents and human rights advocates say contains the remains of civil war massacre victims. Heavy machinery, escorted by police, began work on February 16, 2026, for Cyeemsal, a Mexican-owned company.
Félix Laínez, president of the San Francisco Ángulo community association, stated that the community has lost several legal appeals against court rulings authorising the work. A final constitutional appeal is currently before the supreme court, though Laínez expressed little hope for its success.
A 2018 ruling by El Salvador’s human rights ombudsman documented two military operations at the site 45 years ago. These included the interrogation, rape, and murder of women on June 19, 1981, and the killing of approximately 45 civilians, mostly women and children, on July 25, 1981. Rafael Paz Narváez, a sociology professor at the University of El Salvador, described the area as an execution site throughout the war, where the army, national guard, police, and death squads killed prisoners, making the number of remains difficult to determine but large.
An excavator operator, who wished to remain anonymous, reported finding six grave sites and at least three bodies when construction started, describing the smell as “like a cemetery.” He claimed he was ordered to remove and rebury the remains, and later refused an order to move them a second time, leading to threats of a theft accusation. The operator also stated that project representatives offered him money and a job if he would declare to the attorney general’s office that he had never seen any bodies.
The ombudsman’s office issued an interim ruling requesting a halt to construction, but its rulings are not enforceable, and work proceeded. The landfill, promoted by Los Nonualcos, an association of 18 municipalities, is projected to receive over 265 tonnes of solid waste daily. A technical assessment based on government data indicates the site is above a critical water-catchment area with permeable volcanic soils, which experts say could accelerate pollution and contaminate water sources for about 1,750 families.
Community members allege they were never formally consulted, a violation of environmental law, despite municipal documents claiming agreement. Complaints have been filed with several government institutions and a constitutional appeal with the supreme court in February. In March, Laínez presented the community’s case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. On May 18, a lower court dismissed a deforestation case against the company in a seven-minute hearing, a decision community members called a “mockery.”