21. Why El Salvador’s Anti-Crime Measures Cannot (and Should Not) Be Exported
- Author:
- Tiziano Breda
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- One year has passed since El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele launched a “war on gangs”, embedded in a state of exception that has since been renewed monthly. The government claims to have arrested 66,000 alleged gang members, projecting the image of an upfront battle against criminal organisations that has yielded results in bringing down murder rates. This has earned Bukele the approval not only of most Salvadorans, but millions of citizens throughout Latin America. His methods have become a foreign policy tool and a driver of electoral disputes in the region. But are they “exportable” to other countries? And should they?
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Crime, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, Democracy, and Organized Crime
- Political Geography:
- South America, North America, El Salvador, and United States of America