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A Model for the Region? How El Salvador’s President Tackled Crime
A Model for the Region? How El Salvador’s President Tackled Crime
Sputnik International
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele made headlines across the world recently when he sailed to reelection with some 85% of the vote. El Salvador’s constitution previously forbade presidents from serving consecutive terms in the Central American country, but through a combination of public popularity and “heavy handed” tactics the politician was able to change the country’s laws to stand for reelection.
2024-02-07T04:44+0000
2024-02-07T04:44+0000
2024-02-07T04:46+0000
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Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele made headlines across the world recently when he sailed to reelection with some 85% of the vote. El Salvador’s constitution previously forbade presidents from serving consecutive terms in the Central American country, but through a combination of public popularity and “heavy handed” tactics the politician was able to change the country’s laws to stand for reelection.Journalist Esteban Carrillo joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Tuesday to explain the reasons for Bukele’s stunning success, describing how the Salvadoran leader helped the country achieve its lowest murder rate in decades.Carrillo pointed out the documented role of the United States in El Salvador’s security issues – the infamous MS-13 gang originated in US prisons and spread to El Salvador when the country deported inmates to the Central American country.One of the most famous victims of gang violence in El Salvador was Archbishop Óscar Romero, who was known throughout the country for his concern for the poor. Romero openly criticized the violence of anticommunist gangs in the country, and paid for his outspokenness with his life.Armed men murdered the influential religious figure one morning in 1980 as he delivered a sermon. “I order you in the name of God: stop the repression,” Romero pleaded in a radio address the day before. Romero had written in vain to US President Jimmy Carter, warning Carter of the role of US military funding in propping up the country’s repressive government.Violence has remained a major problem in the years since, with successive governments unable to oppose the power of gangs in the country. Carrillo noted that Bukele employed “heavy handed” tactics to ensure his security legislation was passed by Salvadoran lawmakers.“He deployed snipers outside the building,” Carrillo noted, “and he brought the military into Congress to force lawmakers to vote in his favor. That’s the best example I can give you of Bukele’s actions.”
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A Model for the Region? How El Salvador’s President Tackled Crime
04:44 GMT 07.02.2024 (Updated: 04:46 GMT 07.02.2024) The small Central American country has been plagued by violence for decades, but El Salvador’s popular new leader has managed to turn the tide.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele made headlines across the world recently when he sailed to reelection with some 85% of the vote. El Salvador’s constitution previously forbade presidents from serving consecutive terms in the Central American country, but through a combination of public popularity and “heavy handed” tactics the politician was able to change the country’s laws to stand for reelection.
Journalist Esteban Carrillo joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Tuesday to explain the reasons for Bukele’s stunning success, describing how the Salvadoran leader helped the country achieve its lowest murder rate in decades.
“It was security,” said Carrillo, explaining Bukele’s raids that took 75,000 suspected gangsters off the streets. “It's really as simple as that. He was able to get control over El Salvador, a historically violent country, by doing what? Mass arrests… He's building these massive, massive prisons.”
Carrillo pointed out the documented role of the United States in El Salvador’s security issues – the infamous MS-13 gang originated in US prisons and spread to El Salvador when the country deported inmates to the Central American country.
“El Salvador was also a place where a lot of US-sponsored death squads were active,” noted Carrillo, referring to the armed groups the United States clandestinely backed to defeat popular movements throughout Latin America. “[MS-13] was born out of the jails in the United States, and when they were mass deported back to El Salvador that's when the country sadly fell into this spiral of violence, when then all of a sudden this tiny country had to deal with so many hardened criminals that took over everything.”
One of the most famous victims of gang violence in El Salvador was Archbishop Óscar Romero, who was known throughout the country for his concern for the poor. Romero openly criticized the violence of anticommunist gangs in the country, and paid for his outspokenness with his life.
Armed men murdered the influential religious figure one morning in 1980 as he delivered a sermon. “I order you in the name of God: stop the repression,” Romero pleaded in a radio address the day before. Romero had written in vain to US President Jimmy Carter, warning Carter of the role of US military funding in propping up the country’s repressive government.
Violence has remained a major problem in the years since, with successive governments unable to oppose the power of gangs in the country. Carrillo noted that Bukele employed “heavy handed” tactics to ensure his security legislation was passed by Salvadoran lawmakers.
“He deployed snipers outside the building,” Carrillo noted, “and he brought the military into Congress to force lawmakers to vote in his favor. That’s the best example I can give you of Bukele’s actions.”
