Former pro soccer player detained after viral video shows him dangling a dog by its leg from a window
So not okay.
Former pro soccer player Héctor Alejandro Rosales Bonilla, 64, has been detained by authorities after a viral video clip allegedly showed him dangling a small dog out of an apartment window by its hind leg. Police apprehended him in San Salvador on October 20, 2026, after they learned of the video. Bonilla played for C.D. Águila, a club in El Salvador’s Primera División, in the 1990s; he is currently a dentist.
In the video, a man who appears to be Bonilla dangles a pug out of what looks like a fifth-story apartment window, holding one or both of its hind legs with one hand. The dog can be heard crying, while the man holds up a cell phone in the other hand, seemingly taking video or photos of the pup. After a few seconds, the man pulls the dog back up and returns inside the apartment.
A neighbor caught the incident on video
According to the NY Post, the viral video came from a neighbor who recorded the whole thing and can be heard in the background saying, “Why is he doing that? And he was recording. How weird.”
The mayor of San Salvador, Mario Durán, said in a post on X that, “We received a report through social media about a little dog that was being a victim of animal abuse. Immediately, our team, along with @PNCSV, intervened and managed to rescue it.”
His staff accompanied the National Civil Police of El Salvador (PNC) to Bonilla’s apartment, where they rescued the dog from the video and a second dog. The PNC shared photos of Bonilla with his hands purportedly handcuffed behind his back, while one officer held the pug from the video and the second pup stood on the ground. The PNC assured that it would refer Bonilla to the proper authorities to face charges of animal abuse.
According to El Mundo, attacks against companion animals, like the pug, in El Salvador are a crime under article 261-A in the Penal Code. The article sets the penalty at two to four years in prison, with the possibility of commuting sentences under three years to days of community work or economic sanctions.
The dogs seemed okay after their rescue
The little pug in the video was clearly terrified as it was dangled over the window ledge, but after the rescue, it and the other pup seemed fine. The mayor’s office released a video of an official playing with the pug, who seemed extremely happy at the attention.
According to Mayor Mario Durán’s post, “It is now safe and will receive the care it needs. Thank you for reporting this. We will not tolerate animal abuse in San Salvador Centro.”
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