Mexico City, Mexico – El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele last week strongly criticized Mexico’s government regarding President Claudia Sheinbaum’s security strategy.
Bukele took to social media – as he often does – to share his stance on Mexico’s current insecurity crisis. Through his X account, Bukele, lauded his government and security strategy while panning Mexico’s.
He compared El Salvador’s 9 million inhabitants and the mere 21,000 kilometers that make up the country’s national territory with Mexico’s huge population and vast territory.
“But, in any case, 28 of Mexico’s 32 states have a population equal to or less than El Salvador’s. Why, then, can’t they solve the security issue in a single state with less inhabitants than El Salvador, having the resources of a country with 130 million inhabitants?” he wrote on X.
On March 21, Sheinbaum responded to Bukele’s comments urging the Salvadoran leader for respect.
“He was elected by his people, but at the same time, we ask for respect for Mexico. Respect, always respect. That is the hallmark of diplomacy,” said Sheinbaum in response during her morning briefing.
While Bukele has made a case for the success of his security strategy, which has witnessed homicide rates fall to historic lows, his security scheme is driven by a state of exception policy which has allowed him to consolidate power and rule like a dictator.
The emergency policy has been extended 30 times since 2022, restricts basic human rights, and has led to the incarceration of 83,000 people in maximum security prisons – some without a conviction or trial.
According to Human Rights Watch, “Local and international human rights groups have documented mass arbitrary detention, torture, and, in some cases, sexual violence against women and girls in detention, and enforced disappearances.”
Moreover, human rights watchdogs have denounced that at least 375 people have been killed by state officials since the beginning of the state of exception, including two babies.
Organizations such as Amnesty International have documented the depth of the excesses in El Salvador, reporting that by 2024 three out of every 100 men were locked up, almost 1.8% of the Salvadoran population.
This has led to conditions that have been described as “inhumane” due to the level of overcrowding and cruelty inside El Salvador’s prisons under Bukele’s administration.
On March 24, Bukele posted again on the subject without directly mentioning Mexico.
“The defense is: ‘Our criminals are more powerful’, ‘we have the best criminals in the world’, ‘nobody can fight our criminals’. Insane,” he wrote.
Featured image credit: via Nayib Bukele’s X profile
