* A document signed between the governments of El Salvador and China has planned since 2016 the intervention in the Gulf of Fonseca to transform it into an economic development zone.
** The memorandum of understanding, a copy of which Expediente Público obtained, reveals Beijing’s interest in this area, where Nayib Bukele’s government is now expanding the Surf City project.
*** With the construction of the Pacific Airport, fishing families report evictions without compensation.
Eric Lemus / Expediente Público
The most significant project of Nayib Bukele’s second term began to take shape eight years ago, during the administration of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), which laid the groundwork to favor China’s interests in this Central American country.
With the expansion of President Bukele’s emblematic Surf City 2 project, approximately 225 families have been displaced from communities surrounding the Gulf of Fonseca, where the construction of the Pacific Airport is also planned.
The new airport terminal will operate in the department of La Unión, 205.5 kilometers east of San Salvador, aiming to transform the eastern region of the country into an international reference point.
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The airport project seeks to boost air traffic in a region with tourism potential, where the Chinese government has proposed creating an Employment and Economic Development Zone (ZEDE).
Expediente Público obtained a copy of a memorandum of understanding signed on August 23, 2016, during the administration of former President Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2017), outlining a roadmap aligned with Beijing’s interests.
The airport project aims to boost air traffic in a region with tourism potential, where the Chinese government has proposed creating an Employment and Economic Development Zone (ZEDE).
Expediente Público obtained a copy of a memorandum of understanding signed on August 23, 2016, during the administration of former President Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2017), outlining a roadmap aligned with Beijing’s interests.
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Sánchez Cerén is now a naturalized Nicaraguan citizen and is wanted by Salvadoran justice for corruption charges.
The document was signed by then-Vice President Óscar Ortiz, also a leader of the former ruling party FMLN, and Jiang Yi, president of the Chinese company Beijing Asia-Pacific Xuanhao Project Investment Company Limited.
Professor Evan Ellis, a Latin American studies researcher at the U.S. Army War College’s Institute for Strategic Studies, told Expediente Público that the Gulf of Fonseca can be understood as a strategic area for China’s expansion in Central America.
Ellis compares the location’s importance to the Panama Canal, but with the distinction that here, the objective is to gain better access to the markets of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.
Forced Evictions
Community leader José Elmer Martínez confirmed to Expediente Público that the Salvadoran government forcibly evicted them in December 2024 from the Flor de Mangle and Condadillo communities, in Conchagua, La Unión Este municipality.
These two small villages were home to around 2,000 residents, who relied on artisanal fishing and agriculture for their livelihoods. However, they warn that the entire landscape is drastically changing, and this will alter the protected mangrove areas.
The government agreed on expropriations, offering $8,000 per “manzana” (0.7 hectares) as compensation to families affected by the Pacific Airport construction. However, as of March 2025, no payments have been made, according to farmers who reported the situation.
“Representatives from the Ministry of Housing came to speak with us, but there are irregularities because they are not keeping their promises,” warned Martínez, president of the Flor de Mangle community.
The market price of a manzana of land (0.7 hectares) ranges between $24,000 and $40,000, depending on its commercial use.
“Agricultural land starts at $24,000, while coastal land is the most expensive due to its tourism potential,” explained Ángel Flores to Expediente Público. Flores represents the Indigenous Movement for the Integration of the Struggles of Ancestral Peoples of El Salvador (MILPA).
Context: Surf City 2 Encroaches on a Natural Reserve in El Salvador
In early 2024, for example, the community living near El Icacal Beach, one of the most pristine coastal areas in eastern El Salvador, was also systematically pressured by private security personnel to leave their homes.
The MILPA organization reported to Expediente Público multiple cases of intimidation and even physical violence against some residents.
Asset Seizure and Land Expropriation
The National Coalition for the Right to a Healthy Environment (CONADAM) informed Expediente Público that the government is applying the Special Law on Asset Seizure and the Administration of Illicitly Originated or Intended Properties.
“This law expedites land expropriation under the justification of public interest, despite being adjacent to one of the country’s main protected natural areas,” Flores stated.
Meanwhile, there is no available environmental impact assessment for the Pacific Airport project, raising concerns about its impact on coastal and marine ecosystems.
What is the Budget for the Pacific Airport?
The project, promoted as one of the Salvadoran government’s key initiatives to strengthen air connectivity and economic development in the eastern region, has progressed slowly in its budget execution.
President Nayib Bukele’s administration allocated $19.5 million in 2024 for the construction and equipment of the Pacific International Airport, located in the department of La Unión, according to Expediente Público’s review of official Fiscal Transparency documents.
The Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA) oversees the project, yet official documents reveal that only $2.7 million of the allocated budget has been executed. There is no available information explaining the low level of investment or concrete timelines for the airport’s construction.
Moreover, in the 2025 General Budget of the Republic, no funds were identified under public investment for the airport project.
Residents Not Considered
“This project violates fundamental rights, such as residents’ right to consultation and environmental protection, as it affects a mangrove forest reserve and has both economic and social impacts,” lamented an environmental activist.
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The affected communities reiterate that the government has yet to pay the agreed compensation, while construction machinery advances and forcibly expels those who oppose the project.
The foundation stone for the Pacific Airport was laid by President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The government promises that the new air terminal will span 2,400 meters and have two landing gates.
Additionally, it is projected to accommodate 300,000 passengers per year, with an average of 2,000 flights annually.
“Land prices have skyrocketed due to the upcoming construction, and now nothing is available for less than $60,000. What can we buy, and where will we go?” asked one of the evicted residents.
China Behind the Scenes
The 2016 memorandum of understanding outlines a long-term roadmap to transform the entire area surrounding the Gulf of Fonseca, which borders the Pacific Ocean and neighboring Honduras and Nicaragua.
In this document, China planned to make a substantial investment to “create or manage one or more Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in El Salvador.”
The project, with an estimated investment of $23 billion, would cover 2,787 square kilometers, equivalent to 13% of El Salvador’s territory.
A former official involved in the negotiations told Expediente Público that “staff from the former PROESA (Promote El Salvador) worked under the Vice Presidency and handled everything at a slow but meticulous pace.» The source speculates that «perhaps they knew it wouldn’t be executed by Sánchez Cerén’s government but rather by Bukele.”
The source, identified as Beta, recalled that the plan included the creation of an industrial zone for construction materials and electronics, a port area with the expansion of Puerto La Unión, an airport zone, an international trade hub, an agricultural and tourism sector, a financial center, and a high-tech education and innovation zone.
“Honestly, when I see the current geographical direction of Bukele’s project, I also see that it follows the exact route China planned, covering the coastal area of Usulután, San Miguel, and La Unión, where the Gulf of Fonseca is strategic,” Beta observed.
“A Strategic Logistics Hub”
Professor Evan Ellis notes that current conditions in the three countries bordering the Gulf of Fonseca—El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras—are more favorable than in 2016, when the memorandum of understanding was signed under Sánchez Cerén’s administration.
The U.S. academic explained to Expediente Público that all three countries now maintain diplomatic relations with China instead of Taiwan and support China’s permanent observer status at the Central American Parliament (Parlacen). Additionally, Beijing has become a key political ally in the region.
“It is important to understand the Gulf of Fonseca as a strategic logistics hub, with its interconnections between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the opportunities it offers to China during times of war and in peacetime. Given the strong political and military ties between China, Nicaragua, and Honduras, this area is crucial,” Ellis stated.
The professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Institute for Strategic Studies also recalled the purchase of half of Isla Perico by Chinese-Salvadoran businessman Bo Yang, shortly after El Salvador established diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Yang purchased 106 manzanas (approximately 74 hectares) of land in November 2019, though he never visited the property, which is located along the Gulf of Fonseca.
Expediente Público visited the islet, where 40 families live in extreme poverty. One resident recounted seeing a boat with Asian-looking individuals, but they never disembarked.
“They never came to see what they bought,” the woman said.
The Presidential Stamp on Infrastructure Projects
Two years ago, Bukele inaugurated the beginning of infrastructure projects in eastern El Salvador, with a 13.6-kilometer road connecting Usulután and San Miguel.
The event was held on August 11, 2022, near a rock formation known as “La Ventana,” adjacent to Punta Mango, one of the least-visited beaches by people from the capital but an important landmark for eastern Salvadorans.
“This territory was abandoned by all previous governments; here we have one of the most impressive beaches in the country,” Bukele said when launching the project.
Surf City: A Tourism Expansion Plan
The Surf City project consists of at least four phases, aiming to create a network of beaches to attract international tourism.
“Surfers told me this is one of the best beaches for surfing in the world. But there isn’t even a proper road to access it. This road is just dirt; not only is Punta Mango underdeveloped, but so are all the beaches in the area,” Bukele criticized during the event.
The plan began in 2019 as part of the «National Strategy for Surf Tourism Development in El Salvador», focused on boosting the “Pacific Coast Belt.”
However, local residents fear that by 2025, they will have nowhere to live, becoming collateral damage in the execution of Bukele’s flagship project.
