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Salvador: the president at war against gangs
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In El Salvador, Nayib Bukele is campaigning for his re-election as president of the country. He has built his reputation on the war he wages against gangs, involving numerous arrests.
The president of El Salvador who likes to call himself the “cool dictator”, Nayib Bukele, is campaigning for his re-election. The 42-year-old built his popularity by waging an intense war against gangs. Police make rounds in San Salvador, checking the identities of many residents and arresting those in possession of drugs. These operations illustrate the iron fist of the government which wants to dismantle gangs in the country.
An effective policy but at what cost?
A merciless war, launched two years ago, which built the reputation of the President of El Salvador with a popularity rate of more than 90%. And for good reason, in the space of a few months, the capital, which was renowned as one of the most dangerous in the world, became one of the safest. Nayib Bukele’s policies have caused the number of homicides in the country to fall by 70%. But at what cost ? Many residents have suffered abuse and sometimes unjustified arrests, they say.
