Catholic church calls on president of El Salvador not to lift ban on gold mining
The Roman Catholic Church has called on the president of El Salvador not to lift the country's ban on gold mining
By AP News
Published - Dec 01, 2024, 07:29 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 05:10 PM EST
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The Roman Catholic Church called on the president of El Salvador Sunday not to lift the country’s ban on gold mining.
Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas asked President Nayib Bukele not to reverse the ban, which has been in place since 2017.
“It will damage this country forever,” Msgr. Escobar Alas said in a homily. That view has also been voiced by civic and environmental groups.
On Wednesday, Bukele called the 7-year-old ban on metals mining “absurd,” and claimed unmined gold would be “wealth that could transform El Salvador,” in comments on the social platform X.
