An investigation published by Revista Factum has uncovered a series of failures and legal violations that led to the death in prison of Nayib Bukele’s national security advisor, Alejandro Muyshondt. The investigation reveals that Muyshondt was a victim of negligence and neglect while hospitalized under custody. Factum confirmed that his detention was irregular, the prosecution used weak evidence against him, and that prior to his arrest, Muyshondt had sent letters warning of corruption within President Bukele’s first government (2019-2024).
The documentary titled “Muyshondt: 182 Days Before His Death” is the result of six months of journalistic investigation. Factum had access to unreleased videos from the last weeks before Muyshondt’s arrest, a copy of his medical records, and letters signed and sent by the former advisor to a U.S. Senator and to President Bukele himself, denouncing corruption in the Salvadoran government.
Muyshondt was arrested on August 9, 2023, a month after accusing a Nuevas Ideas (the president’s political party) deputy of links to drug trafficking. His medical records detail his last six months of life under state custody. According to these records, the security advisor died from gastric cancer, was infected with hospital bacteria, and had undergone four brain surgeries.
Another revelation from the documentary is that Bukele’s advisor sent signed and sealed letters warning of potential corruption within the government he worked for. One of the most revealing letters, dated March 12, 2021, was addressed to U.S. Senator Angus S. King and mentioned names like former GANA deputy Guillermo Gallegos.
Watch “Muyshondt: 182 Days Before His Death”
Factum reviewed 1,200 pages of documentation showing that the government of Nayib Bukele violated national laws and international treaties regarding the treatment of incarcerated individuals. While hospitalized, and even when fully sedated, the government kept Muyshondt shackled to his hospital bed.
The medical records also reveal a series of inconsistencies. The healthcare staff at Saldaña Hospital, where he was admitted, never identified him as Alejandro Muyshondt but rather as Jorge Álvarez, his lesser-known names. Doctors consulted by Factum indicated that the records show fundamental protocol deficiencies.
The evidence used by the Attorney General’s Office to support the accusations against Muyshondt in court included simple copies of two websites: Última Hora and La Huella, the first linked to an associate of the Nuevas Ideas congressional leader and the second to a government employee, as well as tweets from unverified accounts and a witness who supposedly presented evidence voluntarily. Videos of the moment of his arrest also reveal another unusual detail: the advisor was detained in a private vehicle rather than a police patrol car, as is typical in politically-motivated cases.
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