El Salvador's Congress re-elects attorney general who helped sour relations with the U.S.

The Congress of El Salvador, dominated by allies of authoritarian president Nayib Bukele, re-elected Rodolfo Delgado as attorney general on Wednesday, even though Delgado is widely considered culpable for the soured relations between Washington and San Salvador.

"Rodolfo Delgado has been elected as attorney general of the Republic,” announced Ernesto Castro, president of Congress.

The controversial politician was easily re-elected by an 84 to 66 vote. He first entered office after lawmakers ousted former Attorney General Raul Melara in May, accusing him of having ties to the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. Delgado was then appointed as his replacement and was set to hold the office until Jan. 5, 2022.

He will now serve for three years until Jan. 5, 2025.

Lawmakers also replaced 20 opposition members of congress and five supreme court justices — in a move that provoked outrage from within the international community. The Biden administration publicly accused Bukele and his government of undermining democratic separations of power and eventually cutting aid to El Salvador’s government.

The head of Bukele’s New Ideas party, Christian Guevara, argued on Wednesday that the current administration supports Delgado because he is "committed to the prosecution and fight against corruption."

In June, Delgado said El Salvador was pulling out of an anti-corruption accord with the Organization of American States (OAS) in protest against an OAS decision to take on as an adviser a member of ARENA who has been under investigation.

"We are going to comply with the Salvadoran people by giving them a prosecutor that was elected in a manner that demonstrates popular participation and transparency," Guevara told the press.  

On the other hand, opposition representative Claudia Ortiz pointed out that Delgado "does not have the main characteristic that should be endowed to this type of official, which is independence.”

Ortiz recalled that Malera was dismissed under suspicious circumstances last may and that Delgado’s appointment was highly controversial.

"That tells us, without a doubt, that there were conversations and previous agreements with the majority factions of this Congress and, therefore, it is very difficult to believe that he can operate independently,” she added.