Aguilar cuts short his tour in Abu Dhabi and orders the reimbursement of per diems

The President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, signed Agreement No. 102-P, which suspends the participation of the Minister of Justice and Peace, Gabriel Aguilar Vargas, in the high-level sessions of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and reduces the authorized mission to the days of September 24 to 26, 2026. The agreement, published in La Gaceta No. 214 on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, page 7, orders the reimbursement of unused per diems and designates Vice Minister Nils Ching Vargas as acting minister.

From one week to three days in Abu Dhabi

Agreement No. 102-P modifies Agreement No. 079-P of September 22, 2026, which had authorized the minister to travel to Abu Dhabi between September 24 and October 1, 2026, to attend the 15th CCPCJ. According to the recitals, once the trip had begun, “an extraordinary situation of force majeure” arose that made it impossible to continue with the itinerary and fulfill the mission under the originally authorized terms, making it necessary to suspend participation and arrange an early return to the country.

The Presidency describes these events as circumstances that were “unpredictable and could not have been reasonably planned or avoided by the official.” The text does not detail the nature of the invoked situation.

The new Article 1 authorizes the minister to participate in the high-level sessions of the congress from September 24 to 26, 2026, and Article 4 sets the validity of the agreement between 06:00 hours on September 24 and 18:30 hours on September 26, 2026. Agreement No. 102-P was issued at the Presidency of the Republic on September 28, 2026, that is, after the official’s return.

Per diems paid only for days executed

Article 2 rewrites Article 3 of Agreement No. 079-P and establishes that expenses are recognized only for the period of the trip effectively executed:

• Per diems—meals, incidental expenses, laundry and pressing—shall be covered by the Ministry of Justice and Peace, sub-item 10504, foreign transport.
• Amounts from the per diem advance not used due to the early suspension of the trip must be reimbursed in accordance with Article 10 of the Travel and Transport Expense Regulations for Public Officials of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
• Lodging effectively used will be recognized according to the originally agreed conditions and the corresponding documentation.

The agreement invokes Article 139, paragraph 2), of the Political Constitution and Law No. 10836, the Ordinary and Extraordinary Budget Law of the Republic for the 2026 Economic Year.

Nils Ching Vargas takes over the office

Article 3 modifies Article 7 of the original agreement and appoints Nils Ching Vargas, Deputy Minister of Justice, identity card number 9-0091-0443, as acting minister of Justice and Peace for the period between 06:00 hours on September 24, 2026, and 18:30 hours on September 26, 2026, both dates inclusive. Article 5 leaves the other provisions of Agreement No. 079-P that were not expressly modified intact.

In the same edition of La Gaceta appears Agreement No. 101-P, which authorizes Minister Gabriel Aguilar Vargas to accompany the president on her visit to San Salvador from October 16 to 18, 2026, with expenses covered by the Government of El Salvador and with Jorge Rodríguez Bogle as acting minister during that absence.

Impact

Agreement No. 102-P provides public record that the longest authorized trip for a minister was not executed under the planned terms and establishes two concrete consequences: the reimbursement of unused per diems and the recognition of lodging only for what was actually used. For readers, the document allows for tracking the public spending associated with an official tour that was interrupted and verifying who held the leadership of the Ministry of Justice and Peace between September 24 and 26, 2026.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 214 of November 11, 2026, Agreements section (Executive Branch), p. 7 (official reference: Agreement No. 102-P).