PoliticsThe Bukele Model: How El Salvador’s crackdown reshaped Latin America

El Salvador was once described as one of the world’s most dangerous countries, with powerful gangs controlling whole neighborhoods. Since President Nayib Bukele imposed a state of exception in 2022, homicides have fallen sharply and gang networks have been dismantled. More than 90,000 people have nevertheless been arrested, equivalent to about 1.5 percent of the population. Rights groups say mass trials have swept up thousands of innocent people, with no acquittals recorded.