President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has declared an unprecedented and controversial war on the country's gangs. Under a "State of Exception" in effect since March 2022, over 60,000 suspected gang members have been arrested. Some human rights groups warn that the round up is coming at the expense of proper due process. Bukele's supporters note a dramatic drop in the murder rate and the return of the rule of law on the streets. Bukele's approval rating is over 80 percent. Bukele's experiment is being watched closely in the region, where others are also at the mercy of gangs and cartels.
I spoke about Bukele and his anti-gang efforts with El Salvador native and elections expert Mario Velasquez. Mario has been tracking politics in El Salvador since the 1970s. From 1985-95 he was Executive Director of MAES - Medical Aid for El Salvador. He was at one time affiliated with the leftist FMLN party.