HUNDREDS of people have protested in the centre of El Salvador’s capital against the approval of a law allowing metallic mining in the country.

The proposals are being pushed by President Nayib Bukele, who claimed at the end of last year that El Salvador had gold deposits “with the highest density per square kilometre in the world.” 

Human rights campaigner Monsignor Neftali Ruiz said that he and fellow activists “consider this issue very complicated and we can not remain silent,” as he described how previous attempts to allow mining have led to the persecution of environmentalists and the murder of several activists.