Is El Salvador's Millennial President Negotiating with the Gangs?

[Judi Lynn]

Strongman President Nayib Bukele is taking credit for homicide numbers declining, but police say there’s more to the story.
SQ
By Sayre Quevedo

While several major U.S. cities struggle with record spikes in homicides, the small nation of El Salvador has seen a drop in its homicide rate, and the country's strongman President Nayib Bukele is trying to take credit for it—but he might just be getting played by the gangs.

Bukele insists he’d never negotiate with the gangs, but they say otherwise. And sources within the police force suggest that the homicide numbers are not what they seem.

Bukele came to power in El Salvador in 2019 as a millennial anti-politician. Since his election, he’s stirred up controversy by deposing the attorney general, firing all judges over age 60, ending an independent anti-corruption body, effectively eliminating all checks on his power.

Bukele has also strong-armed a judicial ruling that allows him to run for re-election, a flagrant violation of the constitution. Repeatedly, Bukele has attacked and allegedly spied on the press for criticizing him. And, Bukele has turned the highly volatile cryptocurrency Bitcoin into a national tender, much to the chagrin of his constituents. For a time, Bukele referred to himself on Twitter as the “world’s coolest dictator.”

More:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjbzmp/is-el-salvadors-millennial-president-negotiating-with-the-gangs