Salvadoran Government Officials Echo Ambassador’s Request for Wire tapping

August 27, 2008

Salvadoran government officials have reacted favorably to Ambassador Charles L. Glazer urging for the Legislative and Executive branches of El Salvador’s government to pass a law that will allow the use of wire tapping as a tool to fight crime.

In remarks given at the opening ceremony of an Intellectual Property Rights workshop, Ambassador Glazer called on Salvadoran Congressmen and the Executive branch to ratify an amendment that would allow wiretapping.  He stated that in a meeting with FBI Director Robert Muller in Washington DC, Muller said that wire tapping is one of the best tools enforcement agencies have in the United States to fight organized crime.  The top diplomat also asked the Legislative assembly to approve a new penal code, in addition to an asset forfeiture law and extradition treaty.

Minister of Public Security and Justice Rene Figueroa expressed that the Ministry is willing to work to achieve prompt approval of the reforms before the current term of the Legislative Assembly ends. Another representative of Public Security, Director of jails Gilbert Caceres acknowledged that the entities responsible for enforcing the rule of law do not have the necessary tools to prevent criminals from ordering crimes such as extortions, kidnapping and murders from within jails in El Salvador.  A wire tapping law would allow law enforcement officials to intercept their calls and prevent these crimes from happening.

Attorney General Felix Garrid Safie also urged the Assembly to ratify this amendment.  He added that to prevent the misuse of wiretapping in the country, legislation to prevent invasion of privacy should be created.  Safie also noted that El Salvador is one of the only countries in the Western Hemisphere that does not have wiretapping as a tool to fight organized crime.  He recalled that Costa Rica used this important tool in the case against Salvadoran drug smuggler Reynerio Flores Lazo.

Salvadoran Supreme Court Justice, Nestor Castaneda, agrees that wiretapping could be of great use to prosecute those involved in organized crime, but he also said that this tool needs to be used respecting the rule of law.

In April 2006, the Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment to article twenty-four that will allow wire tapping to take place.  Nevertheless, this has to be ratified by the current Legislative Assembly to become law.  Fifty-six votes are needed to ratify this amendment. Congressmen will have until April 30, 2009 to ratify this amendment. Otherwise, the process will have to start all over again.