Ex-El Salvador president sentenced to 14 years for negotiating with gangs
NBCAPR 2 2023
In contrast with previous administrations, Bukele's crackdown on the country's notorious gangs has been highly successful, putting more than 60K dangerous criminals behind bars and dramatically slashing the murder rate that has plagued the nation for decades. Two of his predecessors have rightly been sentenced to long prison terms not only for corruption but for maliciously failing to protect Salvadorians. There should be no tolerance for politicians' criminal conduct or negligence.
Bukele has done the same thing that he accuses Funes of doing: negotiating with the gangs. The difference is Bukele's all-out war on criminal organizations has taken a terrible toll on democracy and human rights. Thousands of innocent people, including foreign workers searching for work, have been arrested on very loose grounds. If Bukele is let off the hook for his abuses, then any politician could be free from scrutiny.