One of Central America's most famous waves is in danger due to a proposal by a private developer that has met with initial approval by the Salvadorian government. A man named Jose Maria Monterrey has purchased a large block of land at the end of Punta Roca in La Libertad, in order to build a massive apartment complex including four towers, each of which will be twelve stories high. According to Salvadorian Rodrigo Barraza, owner of Punta Mango tours, the project also includes a seawall and a pier that will bisect the break. Mr. Monterrey has already hired a construction company called CPK Consultores to design and engineer the project, which is in its final stages of permitting, pending approval by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Anyone who has traveled Central America knows that this point is one of the best in the world. So good, in fact, that thousands of surfers still visited the point during El Salvador's civil war, when the US Government had listed the country as one of the most dangerous in the world for foreign travelers. As one frequent visitor to La Libertad put it, "that wave is the only thing that city has going for it."

Local surfers in El Salvador are few, but they have put together a petition of some 200 signatures to try to stall the project, and are calling for international help. Save the Waves Coalition has sent letters to the construction company and to government officials to urge them to put a halt to the project until the impact on the surf spot is fully understood.

According to Roberto Rotherham, owner of the hotel on the point and a longtime resident of La Lib, the plans are not as bad as they may seem. “Everyone is on edge right now,” he said in a recent conversation with Save The Waves, “but it is my belief that the company will come to their senses and see that the building of the pier is not cost effective.” Regardless, the surfers of El Salvador are wary, especially in a country where valid information is hard to come by.