Mass Gangster Roundup Made El Salvador as Safe as Canada, Bukele Tells UN

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele used his speech in front of world leaders for an impassioned defense of his tough-on-crime security policy, and said his country would still be mired in violent chaos if he followed the advice of outsiders.

Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Michael McDonald
Published Sep 19, 2023 • 1 minute read

(Bloomberg) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele used his speech in front of world leaders for an impassioned defense of his tough-on-crime security policy, and said his country would still be mired in violent chaos if he followed the advice of outsiders.

“If we had listened to them we would have continued losing thousands of Salvadorans to terrorists,” Bukele told the General Assembly on Tuesday. “Thank God we ignored them.”

The Central American nation has jailed more than 70,000 alleged gang members over the last year and a half, giving it by far the world’s largest prison population per capita. The policies have contributed to Bukele’s sky-high approval ratings at home, and have been imitated by other politicians across Latin America.

Human rights organizations have criticized the lack of due process and transparency. Bukele, 42, said his policies have been under systematic attack from “intellectuals, journalists, politicians and organizations from all over the place.”

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