AI regulation in El Salvador: laws & policy (2026)
AI in El Salvador: comprehensive law.
El Salvador became the first Latin American country to enact dedicated AI legislation when the Legislative Assembly passed Decreto No. 234 on 26 February 2025 (Official Gazette No. 43, Vol. 446, 3 March 2025). The law is promotion-oriented, establishing ANIA as the national AI regulator and mandating a risk-assessment framework, a developer registry, intellectual-property protections, and core ethical principles. A companion Robotic Technologies Law, also administered by ANIA, was published in the Official Gazette on 21 July 2025, extending the framework to robotics.
Legal framework
Law for the Promotion of Artificial Intelligence and Technologies (Decreto No. 234), enacted 26 February 2025, effective 11 March 2025; administered by the National Artificial Intelligence Agency (ANIA), a decentralized body under the Presidency of the Republic
Key points: artificial intelligence in El Salvador
Decreto No. 234, AI Promotion Law
The Legislative Assembly passed the Ley de Fomento a la Inteligencia Artificial y Tecnologías on 26 February 2025; it entered into force on 11 March 2025. The law takes a developer-friendly, innovation-first approach rather than a restrictive one, making El Salvador the first country in Latin America with a comprehensive AI statute.
ANIA, National AI Regulator
The law created the Agencia Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ANIA) as an autonomous decentralized institution attached to the Presidency. ANIA manages the national AI registry, issues technical and security standards, coordinates with the Cybersecurity Agency on personal-data handling, and oversees compliance and enforcement.
Risk Framework & Registry
ANIA was given 90 days from the law's effective date (i.e., by approximately June 2025) to publish a risk-assessment framework balancing innovation against public safety, and to promulgate registration regulations. AI systems that handle confidential, restricted, or personal data face mandatory security requirements; companies conducting AI R&D must register with ANIA to access legal protections.
Intellectual Property & Open-Source Protections
The law grants IP rights from AI research and development to the developer, and explicitly extends legal protection to open-source AI models, a notable first in the region. Private entities are prohibited from anti-competitive practices that unjustifiably restrict free competition in AI development or deployment.
Core Ethical Principles
All activities under the law must adhere to statutory principles of equity, transparency, responsibility, informed consent, data minimization, inclusion, and non-discrimination, mirroring internationally accepted AI ethics guidelines but without adopting the EU AI Act's prohibitions or high-risk classification tiers.
Robotics Law & National AI Infrastructure
A companion Robotic Technologies Law (also administered by ANIA) was published in the Official Gazette on 21 July 2025, covering commercial, healthcare, transportation, and public-space robotics with risk classification, a national registry, tax incentives, and test labs. Separately, El Salvador signed a letter of intent with NVIDIA in April 2025 to build a national AI laboratory; sovereign deployment of NVIDIA B300 chips was reported in mid-2025.
Timeline of decisions
- Guidance · officialNational AI Strategy 2026 Unveiled; UNESCO RAM Assessment Published
ANIA presented El Salvador's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026, built on pillars of innovation, sovereignty, human potential, and abundance — centered on a geothermal-powered National Sovereign Data Center. UNESCO simultaneously published its Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) results for El Salvador, providing international validation of the country's AI governance trajectory.
UNESCO
- Decision · officialEl Salvador–xAI Partnership: World's First Nationwide AI Education Program
President Bukele and xAI announced deployment of Grok AI tutors across all 5,000-plus Salvadoran public schools serving over one million students — the first country-wide government adoption of a frontier AI tutoring system. Pilots launched in Q1 2026 with full nationwide rollout planned by 2027.
Presidencia de la República de El Salvador
- DecisionANIA — National Agency for Artificial Intelligence — Operationally Launched
El Salvador stood up ANIA as an autonomous body reporting directly to the Presidency, fulfilling the mandate of the March 2025 AI Law. ANIA operates as a single-regulator contact for domestic and global AI developers, manages the National Registry of AI Development, and coordinates AI curriculum integration across the national education system.
El Salvador in English
- DecisionEl Salvador Secures First Sovereign Deployment of NVIDIA Blackwell B300 AI Chips
Through a partnership with Hydra Host, El Salvador became the first country to receive a sovereign allocation of NVIDIA B300 processors for its National AI Laboratory, enabling domestic model training powered by geothermal energy — the physical infrastructure underpinning the country's sovereign AI ambitions.
Data Center Dynamics
- Law · officialAI and Technologies Promotion Law (Decree No. 23) Enters into Force
El Salvador became the first country in Latin America — and the first in the world to explicitly protect open-source AI models — with its AI Promotion Law taking effect. Registered developers gain liability exemptions for third-party misuse; ANIA was given 90 days to issue technical security criteria and a registration framework.
Library of Congress – Global Legal Monitor
- LawLegislative Assembly Passes AI and Technologies Promotion Law
The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly adopted Decree No. 23, establishing ANIA, a national AI registry, and IP-ownership rules for AI-generated works. The law mandates compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law for any AI system processing personal data, formally linking the two regulatory pillars.
Digital Policy Alert
- Law · officialLaw for the Promotion of Innovation and Technology Manufacturing (Decree No. 722) Published
El Salvador eliminated income tax, capital-gains tax, customs duties, and municipal taxes for 15 years on activities including software development, cloud computing, AI research, and hardware manufacturing. This fiscal framework is the direct precursor to the 2025 AI Law, designed to make El Salvador a tax-neutral hub for technology investment.
Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador
Sources
- asamblea.gob.sv/sites/default/files/documents/decretos/277EFC88-1C8D-4ACD-BE44-9DAFD6
- asamblea.gob.sv/leyes-y-decretos/view/6137
- asamblea.gob.sv/node/13492
- loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2025-03-25/el-salvador-new-law-encourages-d
- digitalpolicyalert.org/event/27749-law-for-the-promotion-of-artificial-intelligence-and-tech
- trade.gov/market-intelligence/el-salvador-ict-artificial-intelligence-law
- blplegal.com/artificial-intelligence-and-technologies-promotion-law/
- latamfdi.com/el-salvador-advances-ai-and-robotics-policy/
- garciabodan.com/en/el-salvador-will-promote-robotic-technologies-for-commercial-publi
Next for El Salvador: Data & PrivacyComprehensive law
Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026