the-newsmakers

The ‘World’s Coolest Dictator’ Takes on El Salvador’s Gangs

El Salvador is one of the most violent countries in the world. But its millennial president says he's going to change that. Nayib Bukele is young, unique and polarising. His policies are controversial and divisive, and inside El Salvador most people either love him or hate him. One of his biggest challenges since coming to power in 2019 has been taking on the country's numerous armed gangs. Towards the end of March, one weekend of violence left 80 people dead. 62 in a single day. Congress imposed a state of emergency backed by the president, and in the space of a few weeks more than 30 thousand arrests were carried out. But how many of them were justified? Or even legal? Javier Farje Latin America Analyst Jonathan Rosen Security Studies Professor at New Jersey City University Colin Harding Journalist and Latin America Analyst

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