Shortly after the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador this weekend, Salvadra president Naive Buquere posted a three-minute video on social media. It featured a bondage man marched from planes over a dramatic electronic soundtrack and placed in prison.
Mr. Bukere also untook a US judge who failed to turn around his flight and posted it on X, laughing, “Oops… too late.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the video, similar to Elon Musk. Trump was grateful that Bukere said online, “I'll never forget!”
Salvador's role in the Trump administration's deportation strategy demonstrates a new level of power and global recognition for Bukere, who became president at 37 in 2019 and was re-elected last year by landslides.
He became Latin America's most popular leader in gang takedowns. He now positions himself as a key regional ally for Trump.
The “coolest dictator” in the world
Bukele uses social media to project a sophisticated casual look, often wearing a backward baseball cap and aviator shade, responding to criticism of an iron-packed approach to crime and violence.
In the spring of 2022, after a surge in gang violence shook El Salvador, the government has long since imposed emergency situations. Mr. Bukere has given the authority to make mass arrests by the police and the military. It says that human rights groups are silly without people in the legitimate process that have no gang bonds.
Many of the 85,000 Salvadorans who were arrested disappeared into the prison system and were detained for years without trial, unable to know if their families were alive or not.
Mr. Bukere has also been accused of undermining democratic institutions. He embraces criticism and calls himself the “coolest dictator” in the world.
In addition to his harsh crime persona, there are highly produced videos and photos that his government releases regularly. They have shirtless men in handcuffs and prisoners working in factory-like situations. And they often include footage banning terrorism confinement centres known as Cecot, a huge site that can accommodate up to 40,000 prisoners.
Alliance with Trump
Mr. Bucchere's embrace of emergency security forces and his promotion of cryptocurrency Bitcoin has earned him praise in Trump's inner circle.
He recently met with Musk at his Tesla plant in Texas.
Last month, Buquere took Rubio on a sunny tour of his presidential residence outside San Salvador. Rubio then announced that Bukere had proposed to include nationalities of all nationalities, including Americans, and house them at CECOT for a fee.
Rubio, who is part of the group, said he would become “an illegal US alien who is a criminal offender of nationality from the Salvadra faction and Venezuelan gang.
A White House spokesperson said on Monday that El Salvador will receive $6 million to take Venezuela's Deporties.
Reclaiming MS-13 members
The day after Rubio's announcement, Washington's Ambassador Salvador Milena Mayorga said that Buquere asked the MS-13 leader to include the MS-13 leader among those deported to El Salvador “as a matter of honor.”
“The president was dull, he told Rubio. I want him to send a gang leader in America,” Mayorga said.
The country also included two Salvadoran men who were described by Rubio as “a dangerous top MS-13 leaders.”
Bukele's relationship with the MS-13, which began in El Salvador, is complicated in Latin America and the US.
Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department accused Bukere and his administration of secretly negotiating with certain gang leaders: Salvadra officials said they provided privilege behind bars to help keep the number of murders down.
The top Salvador official also said he helped the MS-13 boss escape the country despite the US demanding him extradition, according to the Justice Department.
In 2021, the Treasury imposed a license on members of the administration for expelling favors from gang leaders. Mr. Bukere and his administration were named for the US indictment of MS-13 leaders.
Mr. Bukere refused to do business with the gang leader.
His popularity has skyrocketed, but some analysts say Salvadora's leaders may be afraid to lose power once collaboration with gang leaders is allegedly revealed.
Bukele said Denner will be detained for at least a year, working to work under a program called “Zero Idleness” and attend workshops.
When announcing the arrival of flights this weekend, he called them “firsts.”
Gabriel Labrador contributed a report from San Salvador.
