Arnold & Porter Secures Settlement for Republic of El Salvador in ICSID Arbitration Brought by Fibranet

Arnold & Porter represented the Republic of El Salvador in an ICSID arbitration brought by Fibranet, Sociedad Anónima, and its Salvadoran subsidiary Cablefrecuencias. The arbitration, registered as ICSID Case No. ARB/25/6 and brought under the CAFTA-DR and CACM treaties, was initiated by Guatemalan company Fibranet together with its Salvadoran subsidiary Cablefrecuencias. The claimants alleged that decisions by Salvadoran courts had unlawfully extinguished radiofrequency spectrum concessions and sought more than $130 million in damages, plus interest and legal costs. On October 31, 2025, the parties executed a settlement agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Fibranet withdrew all claims with prejudice and waived any right to bring future proceedings—domestic or international—against El Salvador or its agencies on the same facts or legal grounds. The Republic of El Salvador did not admit liability and made no payment. The arbitral tribunal subsequently issued an order confirming the final termination of the proceedings. This result is Arnold & Porter’s second recorded success representing El Salvador in investment treaty arbitration and follows the firm’s recent representation of the Republic of Panama in an arbitration concerning the Panama Canal expansion, in which the claimant Sacyr S.A. sought more than $2.6 billion in damages. Arnold & Porter represented the Republic of El Salvador with a team composed by: partners Whitney Debevoise and Álvaro Nistal; associates Sebastián Canon Urrutia and Roberto Lupini; and partners Scott Feira and Jane Wessel, who assisted during the negotiations and provided advice on telecommunications and English law.

Arnold & Porter Secures Settlement for Republic of El Salvador in ICSID Arbitration Brought by Fibranet

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