You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation."
Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez is the President of El Salvador, best known for his millennial Tech Bro image, controversial crackdown on gang violence, and prolific use of social media.
In 2019, the 38-year-old Bukele — former Mayor of San Salvador — was elected to the Salvadoran presidency. He was the first president from neither the right-wing ARENA or the left-wing FMLN party since the end of The Salvadoran Civil War. His successful election was accredited to his aggressive use of sites such as Twitter and Facebook and his self-promoted image of a millennial reformist that was going to punish the self-serving politicians of the "old guard" which he blamed for all the nation's political corruption.
On 27 March 2022, Bukele's regime declared a 30-day "state of exception" which suspended certain constitutional rights relating to due process — as of 2024, it has remained in force. The military mobilized and carried out large-scale arrests of suspected gang members across the country. Many were arrested with little evidence, and the sheer number of detainees (over 80,000 as of 2024) led to Bukele constructing a new prison called CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo), the largest in Latin America, to hold the gang prisoners. Due to the scale of arrests, the legal system is overloaded and gang members have been prosecuted in mass trials, with El Salvador now having the highest incarceration rate in the world. This has led to a drastic reduction in gang crime, making Bukele extremely popular among Salvadorans and prompting some other politicians in Latin America to adopt similar policies, while drawing condemnation from human rights groups who accuse the detentions of being sweeping and arbitrary, also highlighting allegations of torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
Bukele is also known for being a strong advocate of cryptocurrency and made El Salvador the first country in the world to introduce Bitcoin as a second official currency, which has not been as successful as hoped.
The Salvadoran constitution prohibits presidential reelection. Nonetheless, he was reelected for a second term in 2024 with a landslide 85% victory, and there are concerns he may become a President for Life.
