advertisement

El Salvador leader fights crime and virus, amid criticism

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - The most popular leader in Latin America is a slender, casually dressed millennial with an easy manner on Twitter and a harsh approach that critics call increasingly frightening.

As his first year in power comes to a close, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is fighting both the coronavirus and the country's powerful street gangs with tactics that some say are putting the young democracy at risk.

Bukele's tough policies have been praised for driving down crime dramatically. The government reported 65 homicides in March, an average of 2.1 a day in a country that once saw more than 20 daily slayings.

Last weekend, however, there were 60 killings - a surge in violence allegedly directed from gangs in prison. His government reacted by releasing photos of hundreds of imprisoned gang members stripped virtually naked and stacked against each other as punishment.

'œThe gangsters that committed those killings, we're going to make them regret it for the rest of their lives,'' Bukele, 38, tweeted Monday.

Along with the humiliating photos, he said he had authorized the use of lethal force against gangs and ordered that their members be put in the same prison cells, creating the potential for more bloodshed.

When the coronavirus appeared, Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries. Violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints.

The Supreme Court ruled these detentions unconstitutional without the legislative assembly passing a law establishing due process.

Bukele has ignored the court. The judges' most recent decision revealed their exasperation, saying court decisions 'œare not petitions, requests nor mere opinions subject to interpretation or discretionary assessment by the authorities they are addressed to, but rather orders that are obligatory and must be carried out immediately.'ť

Bukele seemed especially displeased by an April 17 TV report in the city of La Libertad, which showed people on crowded buses and walking with groceries despite the quarantine. Except for the face masks, it could have been a normal day.

In a series of tweets, Bukele condemned the action and ordered a 48-hour cordon on the city of more than 36,000. By evening, police and soldiers had locked it down, with all businesses closed. Military vehicles with machine guns blocked the city's entrances.

'œIf that behavior continues, it is practically assured that the virus will spread and more than one of your relatives is going to die,'ť he scolded via Twitter.

Bukele said he hoped he would not have to take similar action elsewhere.

'œNot being able to go out to buy food is not a good situation for people," he wrote on Facebook. "But if they don't want to save themselves from death, we'll have to save them.'ť

Last week, the attorney general said his office was investigating whether the cordon was unconstitutional.

A poll this month by CID Gallup found 97% of Salvadorans approve of Bukele's handling of the pandemic, giving him little incentive to back down. The firm surveyed 1,200 people April 13-19, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Figures from Johns Hopkins University said 345 people have been infected and eight have died in the country of 6.7 million, based on government reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump called Bukele on Friday to affirm his support for El Salvador, noting it had assisted in controlling illegal immigration and saying the U.S. would help it get breathing machines.

'œBukele, ever since he came into office, frankly has been enormously popular; he's a tremendously effective communicator,'ť said Geoff Thale, president of the Washington Office on Latin America. 'œThe president has over time, in part buoyed by his popularity, increasingly tried to concentrate authority in his own hands and to ignore the separation of powers and the appropriate roles of other constitutional bodies.'ť

A former San Salvador mayor, Bukele was elected in 2019, easily defeating candidates from the two dominant parties, which had alternated in power for the three decades since the end of El Salvador's devastating civil war. Corruption characterized those administrations and left a vacuum in which street gangs grew in power.

Bukele had come from the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front party but was expelled for constantly criticizing its leaders.

His victory left the FMLN and conservative Arena parties directionless and incapable of mounting strong opposition. His apparent lack of ideology beyond a personal brand of populism has infuriated both the left and right.

His only obstacles have been the legislative assembly, where his coalition holds few seats, and the Supreme Court.

In February, Bukele sent soldiers into the legislative assembly because it balked at approving a security funding-related measure. He withdrew them only after he said God had asked him to be patient. Local and legislative elections are scheduled for next year, and there is concern his supporters could take control of the legislature.

Bukele has repeatedly ignored the orders of the five-member Constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court to stop detaining people found breaking quarantine. He not only rejects the constitutional arguments, but accuses the judges of trying to kill fellow citizens.

'œFive people are not going to decide the death of hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans,'ť Bukele tweeted. 'œNo matter the ink and seals they have.'ť

Human Rights Watch Americas director José Miguel Vivanco tweeted Monday that with the authorization of lethal force against the gangs 'œBukele is trying to give carte blanche to members of public forces to kill.'ť

There is a growing clamor for the international community, in particular the Organization of American States, to break its silence. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged authorities to investigate all alleged human rights violations and to immediately release those detained arbitrarily.

Bukele's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Valentín Padilla, a 62-year-old San Salvador retiree, noted Bukele's success amid the conflicts.

'œWhat the president has done is working, but every day there are fights. The (legislators) say one thing and the president answers them. Better if they think of the people and work together,'ť he said.

Tomás Sevilla, a 42-year-old auto mechanic, said Bukele's steps seemed to be working, although he had heard the criticism. He said was following the quarantine, 'œbut we also need to work to be able to buy food.'ť

Eduardo Escobar, director of the nongovernmental organization Acción Ciudadana, acknowledged Bukele's measures had slowed the virus but said he was 'œshowing an authoritarian profile'ť and his disobedience of the court 'œis a dangerous declaration because ultimately it means he is going to concentrate power in his hands. He is going to execute, he is going to legislate and he is going to judge.'ť

He said Bukele has succeeded by using fear and positioning himself as the country's savior.

'œHe has managed to establish that the people who are with the government are on the side of God, are battling the epidemic to save the people,'ť Escobar said. 'œAnd those who criticize him are against the people, in favor of the virus and calling for the death of the population.'ť

__

Sherman reported from Mexico City.

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2020 file photo, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, accompanied by members of the armed forces, speaks to supporters outside Congress in San Salvador, El Salvador. As his first year in office comes to a close, Bukele is simultaneously waging war against coronavirus and the country's powerful street gangs with iron-fisted tactics that, according to some observers, put El Salvador's young democracy at risk. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) The Associated Press
A National Civil Police Special Forces officer patrols past a mural of Armando Bukele, father of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, which was painted by supporters of the president outside a cultural center as a thank you gesture for creating the center when he was mayor, during the enforcement of the coronavirus-related quarantine, in the Iberia area of San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
Rosa Morán peers from the gate of her home as the National Civil Police patrol the neighborhood to enforce the quarantine put in place to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, in the Papini community of San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Nayib Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
Tree limbs and a TV block access to homes along Venezuela Boulevard, set up by residents to protect themselves from the spread of the new coronavirus, in San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Nayib Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
Five-year-old Fernanda Serrato poses in front of her house wearing a homemade mask to protect her from the spread of the new coronavirus, in the Papini community of San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Nayib Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
El Salvador's Security Minister Rogelio Rivas speaks to the press during a media ride-along with police patrolling the Iberia community to enforce the quarantine put in place to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Nayib Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
A worker disinfects a street as part of the measures to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus in San Salvador, El Salvador, Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
A sign that reads in Spanish 'œLocals for rent' and a restaurant sign hang next to each other at the site of a closed local, during the quarantine designed to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus, in San Salvador, El Salvador, Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
The logos of Spain's soccer teams Barcelona, left, and Real Madrid, right, flank an El Salvador Alianza F.C. logo, above a cross on a home's window, during a quarantine designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, in the Iberia community of San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 23, 2020. When the coronavirus appeared, President Nayib Bukele closed the borders and airports and imposed a mandatory home quarantine for all except those working in the government, hospitals, pharmacies or other designated businesses. People were allowed out only to buy groceries, and violators were detained, with more than 2,000 being held for 30-day stints. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.