Antonio Pacheco is a human rights defender and the Executive Director of the Asociación de Desarrollo Económico Social “Santa Marta” ADES (Economic and Social Development “Santa Marta” Association) as well as the main promoter of the community development and the protection of the environment. He was one of the main promoters for the prohibition of metallic mining in El Salvador, in favour of the right to a healthy environment for the communities in the country.
The human rights defender community is regularly subjected to campaigns of defamation - they are labeled as 'traitors of the nation', 'terrorists' and 'subversive'. This tactic employed by the authorities is designed to discredit and undermine the work of human rights defenders by isolating and marginalising them, making them a vulnerable target for abuse. Community leaders and environmental activists who are opposed to large-scale mining projects face death threats and violence.
