Nayib Bukele announced this Monday the success of its security policy against gang members in Salvadorwith which he obtained an overwhelming majority in the elections, considering “disjointed” THE the gangsThe Salvadoran president warned that there were still “enemies to defeat” but insisted that the gangs, which he called a “cancer”, be “dismantled operationally”.
The president publicly thanked the Central American country’s security forces for their work and gave them full credit for the announcement: “Our olive green hero and our blue heroes are the pillars on which this new Salvador rests. “With his bravery, his honor and his sacrifice.” In addition, he stressed that, “while some flee from danger,” they “go there because they feel that their mission is greater.”
This is why he indicated that “as Commander General of the Armed Forces and as president of this small but beautiful country, “his commitment” remains intact, as does that of the security forces, he said. “We have a lot to overcome, even to eradicate the cancer of gangs throughout our country,” he said in a televised message addressing the nation.
90 homicides in 2 days
Nayib Bukele announced in 2022 a exceptional regime with which the rights to freedom of association and secrecy of communications were suspended, in addition to other guarantees. He did so after their registration almost 90 homicides in a single weekend in the countryside. Since then, gang members can be detained without prior judicial decision. Thus, according to the president’s record, there have been 82,000 people imprisonedAfter providing these figures, he once again defended his war against gangs, given its success, despite criticism from human rights organisations.
The Salvadoran president also denied negotiating with the gangs after reports appeared in the country’s media in 2020, which was compounded by the complaint by the United States Government in 2021, who spoke of “secret dialogue” with the main group, the MS-13also known as Mara Salvatrucha.
As part of its fight against gangs, the government of Nayib Bukele inaugurated in 2023 the Terrorism Containment Center (CECOT), A macro prison maximum security facility with a capacity of 40,000 inmates and built in less than 7 months. It is the “largest prison in America”, in the words of the president, and it is located in a rural area, 75 kilometers from San Salvador.
The prison is made up of 19 surveillance towers equipped with numerous thermal cameras and the prisoners only leave their cells to go to the infirmary or attend hearings before the judge and visits are prohibited. “Pagaran for the crimes committed against our people; cut off from the outside, with no possibility of leaving, or ordering crimes from prison,” he said after one of the large-scale transfers, that of 2,000 gang members to the prison.
Given its popularity with the population, CECOT was the flagship of Bukele’s electoral campaign, which saw him win re-election in February 2024 with a large majority. Gang violence has been a major part of Salvadoran life for at least two decades and was sparked by the struggle between Mara Salvatrucha And District 18.
