I am a salvadoran born in Soyapango. I have lived my whole life in fear, always scanning the street for threats, always ready to run, kick or scream if I need to. You can get snatched and killed any second, it's war but a silent war! you never know where the bullet is coming from. I am now 31, and I finally breathe in my country. It feels like a totally different place, we are still a poor country but at least we're poor at peace, the terror is gone.
Go over to Salvador,,, talk to prisioner And if you aré convice, faund a inocent The gobernent Will give It to you !! BUKELE Is the true, meaning of humans rights. For good people no for evil animales !! And Is of Cristian values. !! It Is fear,,, one inocent?? For a thousen criminals than. 1000 dead for 1 asesin. !! Now from a barbarian state,,,,to a state of law,, peace, and prosperity. !! May the lord guide, AND protect PRESIDENTE BUKELE. !!
When Bukele received a bunch of criticism from European nations about the human rights about the wave of prisoner arrests, he calmly replied " I will give you any of them you chose if you want to take them and look after their rights in your country" . The response was silence.
It is telling that when other countries try to criticize Bukele, they don't do it out of concern for the citizens, but rather just trying to play an empty blamegame. None of the other countries want to take responsibility , but rather criticise something just for the sake of it.
@@lqlaliut897 exactly. they want to play their "look at me and how virtious i am" card, without actually having to sacrifice anything themself. Kind of like all those homeless activists that demand them to be able to setup tents in public parks and sidewalks anywhere, instead of just offering 1 or two of them to live rent free with them in their place.
I worked and lived in El Salvador for a mere 3 months back in 2018. Just around the months leading up to the election. I heard first hand stories about gang members regularly going into a bus and taking everyone's money and cellphones. I heard first hand stories from women who were openly groped in public by gangmembers who walked around with immunity because they were part of the gang. You couldn't just drive into any neighborhood, the gangs controlled entry and depending on the neighborhood they had different signals for entry. For example if you were driving up to a certain neighborhood you had to have the four way blinkers on your car, just to not get stopped automatically by gang members. Regular people were kidnapped for ransom. This video is not exaggerating when it says that gang members committed unspeakable and truly disturbing crimes against innocent women, children and men. There's always casualties in any war. And in the case of El Salvador this is a war that needed to be fought with a certain level of brutality. As an American citizen I suggest our government and human rights organizations to stay the fuck out of El Salvadors business and start thinking about the things we could improve at home.
I'm a 71 year old woman and I remember the nightmare of El Salvador. No one was safe, families were destroyed, children killed for revenge. It was hell on earth for people just trying to live. Thank you Mr. Bukele, the whole country thanks you.
But did that need to come at the cost of democracy? Will Bukele restore Democracy in the next decade or more? When the gangs are gone for good What will happen with no impetus for its crack downs?
@mrspeigle1 Honestly I'd rather there be 1 than many, I just wish the government would crack down on our billionaire dictators here in the US. I know it won't happen though.
I'm a Salvadorean, it hasn't been this peaceful in decades. The "solution" to the gang issues is only proportional to the issue itself, previous governments made half assed attempts at fixing the issue and it just kept getting worse. Also, I have a bunch of tattoos, the authorities know not all tattoos are gang tattoos. If you abide by the law there's literally no issues.
The solution is vigilantism, it has been for thousands of years. When the government or the king won't send men to take care of bandits, the people will come for them. This is ALSO the solution for a corrupt government. This scares the government so they don't like it when people have vigilantism. They want the people to feel powerless, you are just a number to them.
My wife is Salvadorian and the stories she’s told me from when she visited when she was younger are insane. I went with her and her family earlier this year and her family said it was the most peaceful and safe it’s been in their whole lives (some of them were teens during the civil war). I can see where this can become dangerous if the wrong man comes into power but Bukele has transformed that country it’s beautiful and I can’t wait to go back.
For anyone curious my wife told me that at 13 years old she went to visit a sick aunt and when they reached the entrance about 6 guys covered in tatts head to toe came up to their car with guns aimed at them (Kids and elderly in the car) if it wasn’t for their uncle driving who recognized one of the gang members and said he knew his father who knows what could’ve happened. My wife just remembers one of the guys grabbing his junk with one hand and pointing a pistols with the other blowing kisses at her and her twin sister. If this dictatorship means safety from that hell from before gimme some more of that.
Bukele success... for today. tomorrow? a tyrannical brutal tyrant. every. single. time. people love them, as long as its not them personally being illegally sent to heinous prisons. predictable. but they always turn. ALWAYS. then there will be new levels of hell to pay.
Its not dangerous, I'll tell you why buckle is able to do this because he has 99% of the country on board. The people give government authority to change the Constitution. Not the government itself the moment the people feel the government is missusing power is the time when people don't elect them again and they lose all support from the people making it to where they cant move a finger and change things any longer. The issue here in America is noone is united everyone is divided. In el Salvador everyone has united to end the gang violence even people from abroad that are in America in other countries that are Salvadorian support buckles decision 100%. America doesn't have that it has the Dems and Republicans are going against each other on everything they cant come together at all.
important to acknowledge these gangs started because of US deportation policy, deporting criminals to a weak El Salvadoran government in the 90s allowed them to flourish in the first place
One thing not mentioned in this video is what Bukele has done besides the crackdown on gangs. He's also invested a ton in infrastructure, economic growth and welfare/poverty reduction. That's the other side of his strategy. Just as the War on Terror failed because more terror arose, often wars on crime fail to tackle root causes of poverty, unemployment and dissatisfied youth. That's what Bukele has done otherwise. He's made gang life as unappealing as possible, while making a peaceful life as reachable as possible. It's actually pretty brilliant when you look at it that way.
How's he paying for it? Is he borrowing money? Or did he raise taxes (so that what used to be the gang's cut is now his)? Don't get me wrong, I hope it's successful. Stopping people from becoming gangsters in the first place is the best way to stop the problem coming back. But where is the money coming from? El Salvador is not a rich country.
@@Pushing_Pixels You can actually tax the money people are spending if the gangs do not steel it, it's not that the government takes the cut the gangs took before and more that the money is back in natural circulation. Plus the funny thing is, the same decentralization that was supposed to uphold the democratic principles lets you obscure how government money is used(or stolen) easier. Apparently when your government has a ruling super-majority and a president that does not take "not your business, fuck off" as an answer, for the first time in history they are forced to actually explain where the money is going.
@@Pushing_Pixels "The government taking the gangs cut" 😂 You can't be serious. Its disingenuous to compare the 'benefits" a gang offer from extortion to those of the duly elected government. Here's a clue: the gangs aren't building roads, bridges, or funding education.
I bet people are able to pay more taxes now that they can spend their money inside of the system instead of letting it go into gangs pockets. Theres alot that could be done in the u.s. in terms of budget just removing bureaucratic bullshit in general honestly.@@Pushing_Pixels
The citizens never sacrificed their civil/human rights to end the gangs. The gangs had taken their rights long before Bukele and now Bukele isn’t taking any more than what the gangs took but now is giving something back in return. You now run the risk of getting falsely imprisoned but before him you had a much higher likelihood of getting murdered or mutilated.
Im salvadorean, I live in the US, and I go to visit El Salvador at least 4 times a year because bukele made it possible… 1st world countries will never understand the struggle! Bukele FOREVER!!!!!!
@@5kplamse you're comment reads 9 seconds ago (I don't know why that's important.) but I agree with you: Only in the USA, "protective custody" of Planet Earth, can gangs even exist. All the more reason to avoid the $hit.
@genesssisss, be careful! Bukele FOREVER will evolve into Buke 4evr (so it will fit on you're knuckles), and you will be at war with Americans who do not need the org.
I am a first generation American, with parents who lived and fought in the Salvadoran Civil war. Ive had family members who are/were gang members, and have been arrested as well as family members who have been killed and disappeared by the gangs. Bukele is a national treasure, the one man responsible for ending the suffering and tragedy in El Salvador, a people who have never enjoyed peace since its existence. Not in the 1800’s, not during its decade long Civil War in the 80’s, and certainly not for its 30 years under gang control. Bukele delivered National pride, joy, freedom, peace and happiness to El Salvadorans. Its truly remarkable. What he has done is something every true Salvadoran, who has lived through its nightmare history will tell you is absolutely justified. No one should tell Salvadorans how to feel about their affairs, let alone the US who facilitated its violence and poor state for decades, because the Salvadoran people are now truly free and happy to live.
I think that if we want to tell El Salvadore what to do, we should be prepared to pay for it. If we want the prisoners to have better conditions, well, we can help ease the burden on the El Salvarodan government to help that happen. Nothing they are doing is easy. You can't run a safe prison without well trained guards, money for food, a budget for healthcare... But they need the prisons, even if it means running them without those things. The US could could offer an alternative. Hell, we have experience with mass incarceration.
Sadly the western world is choosing to embrace this insane ideology. “Criminals are victims. How dare you resist assault?” In these “progressive” places you’ll get arrested for defending yourself or someone else. Criminals are more and more brazen. I watch in real time as my city turns into a s**thole. The only deterrent is punishment and the promise of consequences. Without consequences people will do whatever they feel like doing no matter who it harms.
I lived in El Salvador for a year in the late 2000s, death and murder were daily sights. I saw my first dead body within 15 minutes of arriving, my boss was kidnapped, and coworkers extorted. I applaud what the President has done, most of the rich preferred to live in their bubble and make fake promises when election time came. What he has done is bring peace to a country that never imagined it possible.
Yes, he did a great job fixing the gang problem. I just hope that he doesn't become a Tyrant and keeps working for the good of his people. I would love to visit El Salvador in the future.
Next...when BTC, hits 100k/coin...it's people will become wealthy. Then. Crime will have no place in El'Salvadore. So this prelude of taking "losers" off the streets.. will pave the way to this country being invaded by the World's millionaires. .who finally realize that BitCoin is the only way to transact proper exchange for goods/services worldwide. Vendors...rich vendors worldwide...will seek to go where BTC is ubiquitously accepted...then spread out... again...and again. Ad all world Fiat/paper monies finally fie by 203_.
He did bungle the covid response by buying into alt-medicine bullshit and he tried to integrate crypto into the economy right when it crashed. For every great idea that comes from a dictatorship, there's a few horrible ones that cause irreversible damage. I'm willing to give Bukele the benefit of the doubt because he did crack down on El Salvador's number one problem, though
Pretty soon that peace will be gone and they will be scared of the gang (aka the government). It's sad that the lives of your family were so horrifically bad that they think living in a state of emergency from the government is a good thing. I hope the power doesn't go to Bukele's head and that he stays righteous. However, if you studied history you would know this never happens. I give this a .0005% chance this government will not end in another long lasting catastrophe for your people. I'm sorry but it's simply history repeating itself over and over.
Amazing how the world stage ignores the horrors of the gangs and their workings but as soon as they face tough conditions in prison its a human rights outrage. I know it is more complicated than that, but surely you get the point.
When they say the gangs have vanished, they mean it. I just came back from a 3 week trip there and I have NEVER seen this country this peaceful. I went out to a park restaurant at night and nothing! No shake down. No guy asking for passage or protection money. NOTHING. That may seem normal in the US but that is crazy for El Salvador. As far as the social justice, no one is being imprisoned for “just a tattoo“. Those tattoos are extremely specific (normally on the skull, behind the lips, and such [all gang specific branding, there is a reason all the people in the shots look similar]). Normally it’s not the neighbors pointing a finger, it’s a text chain they find on phone for drug dealers. Or it’s police that are finally arresting people that have been openly extorting for years. As for political side, they were just as bad as the gangs. The main two parties that have ruling the country have been robbing the country blind for years. I’ll give you a specific example, they built a community center in my neighborhood for 150k. The only problem was it was 4 metal poles and a tin roof they threw together in an afternoon. What happened with the extra money? Into the mayor’s pocket. It’s not that they are taking power by force, people are voting for them willingly. The theft of funds by politicians has sunk to a low, they are actually investing in infrastructure. There has been more investment in roads in the last 3 years than I have seen in the decades that preceded it. Oddly enough there are now mandatory community meetings for people to put forth new civil projects that they would like to see (we actually get to vote on how the municipality spends funds! 🎉 We have gone from getting water once every 3 days to having running water everyday! [YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW AMAZING THAT IS]). There also needs to be note in the explanation of presidential terms. It’s not that they can only have 1 term. It’s that they can’t have consecutive terms (people just don’t trust the other parties to continue what is currently being worked on).
@xv9021 nah. Hard pass on that. Self proclaiming himself as dictator was an ironic response that was taken out of context. Think of it as a "if you want to call me a name, fine. Whatever, I'll take it and move on." Kind of like dealing with a playground bully 😂
@@xv9021 Sadly no, because even if you are the smartest, nicest and coolest of dictators, once you leave power (are overtaken, die or something) you leave behind a system that's going to be abused by a not-so-benevolent dictator
My dad is Salvadoran and he takes me and my sister there every other year! The most recent visits I’ve been there I’ve felt super safe and can tell how much better the country has gotten
I have been through the airport many times and have seen it change quite a bit. I really want to go out and see the country. I love Salvadoran culture and would love to see more of the country. Saludos.
@@SleepyjoeOG like the other comment said the airport has become much nicer everytime i went there. Different tourist locations have become much cleaner and nicer along with the place i stay at which is more of a everyday kind of place. it also feels alot safer where im not hearing about people getting killed during the days im there.
My uncle lived in ES, and I lost my uncle to these worthless gangs, he was just walking from closing his store and was shot in the head. My mom just showed me pictures and I was so enraged. So when Bukele came along, he was making progress and I felt his presence and actions in the country made me feel vindicated for not just my family but for many who lost someone to senseless violence and murder at the hands of these gangs.
@@Rox888-vx3hv The US? Those who founded the gangs were all deported by the US. Why would he hand them back to the US? The US is run by gangster called Democrats!
My mother in law is from El Salvador. Five years ago she told me I would never set foot in her home country, and we visited last year! I didn't feel unsafe at all - I'm so curious to see what it will be like in 10 years! If locking up gang members is wrong, I don't want to be right. It was great to see children walk to school, and my mother in law was thrilled to explain how different everything is.
While the employment of these tactics is a slippery slope that many across the world are ultimately right to be very concerned about, especially in cases of mistaken association/identity and human rights, anyone familiar with the sheer ruthlessness and savagery of the gangs of El Salvador and how said brutality has spread to other countries should know that no better approach exists than this. A solid chunk of these men (and sometimes women) are beyond rehabilitation, and relinquished their humanities long ago. Not a fan of the politics, but this crackdown is a necessary evil, for better or for worse.
The crazy part is Simon hinted at that with his statements on what the gangs were doing for "fun". It should be easy to ID them. They are tattooed up the wazoo. For him to be like "but human rights" after not even giving us the facts tells me his liberal ideology is really bad when it actually comes to safety for law abiding individuals at the cost to the criminals. Criminals have zero moral qualms about killing people, but we as the civilized, should care about their human rights.
Problem is, once the gangs are taken care of you are left with a president with no accountability and a very well armed military and police that does whatever he says. In the long run I think this is the equivalent of burning your own house to escape the cold.
@@mukamasalike I said-a slippery slope. But I strongly believe for countries as violent as El Salvador and nations with similar levels of chaos, there is no alternative. Period. The Salvadoran people have had enough-even if that means risking everything else they hold dear down the line. I respect their commitment, even if I don't entirely agree with it
@@thebestcentaur a slippery slope is a risk of something worse happening. When you already have a dictatorship, that's not a slippery slope. It's an already unacceptable situation that is made to appear palatable by way of violent extortion. Take away the violence, the extortion remains, and now you have consented to it.
@@burbanpoison2494that clearly doesn't matter to the people of El Salvador-not for the time being at least. You read as much-they don't know what true democracy is, so forget about having lived in one. I learned years ago that thinking about one country from your own country's mindset is unwise-UNLESS the two are in similar situations. The people are willing to pay the hefty price for a seemingly better tomorrow for themselves and their loved ones. I say let them, if they feel it is what is needed
Man. You've got my sub. You clearly have opinions and make solid points but you're so careful and balanced explaining the situation with all the pros and cons.
Great video! However as Central American myself. Those who have never had a loved one or have being affected by a gang WILL NEVER undertand. That type of crime drives uncontrolled immigration in those countries and those who can't leave stay behind to suffer. These gang members do not deserve any sympathy, empathy or love. They lost it the moment they decided to become EXORTIONIST SERIAL KILLERS
I've never experienced gang violence and I understand why el Salvador passed these policies. It's the crying bleeding heart liberals that always pretend to think that these are just misunderstood victims of society.
@@MrNH718 Not a concern. They all get their gang affiliation tattooed on their skin. If someone quits the gang, they die. If someone not a member gets a tattoo posing as a member, they die. Anyone with gang ink is an active member. It's a confession they wear on their body.
My wife is from El Salvador and moved here in 2014. We go back every year at least once and you can see the difference there in the last few years. They can say the government is fudging the numbers, but the change is obvious and tangible. You can’t argue with what you can see with your own eyes Also worth noting, the crackdown on the gangs isn’t the only thing he’s doing for the country. He’s also improving the infrastructure. When we were there in December of last year, the sidewalks downtown were all opened up because they were improving the sewage and water system. All they talk about it the gang issue but there’s a lot of other stuff happening there unrelated to that, which could only happen with the gang removal.
Your experience as tourists is positive, I bet your family there is well off. Did you visit their clinics and schools? The newest, biggest infrastructure donated and built by China. A soccer Arena in the works by CHINA.. this government has not initiated nor built anything in ES
@@Rox888-vx3hvChinese infrastructure are low quality built especially prone to earthquakes. Japanese infrastructure are way better since they get very strong earthquakes.
@@Rox888-vx3hvwhy are you so afraid or imposed to what China is doing to help El Salvador? China is doing more good to the county than what the U.s. could have ever done.
@josueramirez8300 The Salvadoran vendors are being removed to give way to Chinese own business. Chinese are buying most of the prime locations and tourist areas. Salvadorans don't have the money to compete, and frankly, China's plan to remove Taiwan out of Central America is wrong. China is not there to help ES. Everyone knows they're building stadiums in every poor country, giving loans that can not be paid back. ES debt has tripled in the last 5 yrs, poverty has doubled. You tell me how has ES benefited from China?
As a Salvadorean and because I’ve seen all the misery and violence we had to endured for decades! I will never let my Country go back!! At last we live in peace at last we have justice!! Bukele has my total support ✌️
@@Joedaniels007 I don't think hes an NPC bro... Anyone from Latin America who's lived there would support these results. If only others could do the same.... But for the first time, there is hope.
well, see the problem is, by giving up your voting power, and judicial branches of government to your mini-Maduro, you have no "say" or "choice" or "power" in not "letting" your country go back. You allowed yourself to be conned, by a dictator, into allowing him to consolidate power, and change your country from every having any hope of being a normal, peaceful democracy, by being tricked that this "band aid" solution, was a cure to your problems. Sadly, history has shown us that this has never ever worked in favor of the people, ever. And not manana, not en diez anos, but sometime in the next decade or so, you will regret giving away your freedom to this man. Its just a hard reality. Let me ask you a question, how come in Mexico, common , regular people unite into vigilante militias, and wipe out the cartel in their pueblo, but you guys never do that? Why not fight for your freedom to live, against the pinches salvatruchas?
Greetings, I was watching your video and felt the need to respond. As a Salvadorean who fled the country because of the interests and policies imposed by foreign governments, it is only now that I can feel some relief to be back in my country. Curiously, people who have no clue what it is to run for your life can't have an opinion on what President Bukele is doing or label him as a Dictator. I have lived in many countries, the USA including and find the views of politicians and sold-out media so biased. Probably in the comfort of their posh homes, they never faced the loss of a loved one just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or being harassed daily. I hope you can keep your objectivity, which is rare to find in the mainstream media, and one day you can visit El Salvador and walk freely anywhere, something you can’t do anymore in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro or Madrid. The freedom we have has cost more than 100 thousand lives, and we, the Salvadoreans in El Salvador and outside, are not going to allow any foreign country or NGO to come and tell us what is best for us. In Spanish, we have a saying, “Candil de la Calle, obscuridad de tu casa,” which means we cannot bring our lantern to the street if our house is in darkness and that goes for foreign intervention. What we have now is something we could only dream of before. We have to work as any other society in many other areas of our lives, but the fact that we can safely and come back home every night is something we are going to cherish and secure to continue and no foreign opinion is going to change what "THE PEOPLE' want. Respectfully.
ironically, now in El Salvador, you can be an innocent person, in the "wrong place and the wrong time" (which you say us americans never experience loss which is just retarded, but regardless) and you can be snatched up off the street by the police, taken to jail, and rot there till you die, without any recourse or ability to defend yourself, or even hire a lawyer. Do you not understand what you have done? You have simply traded one evil away for an even darker evil, that is just getting started. The whole reason gangs in your country became what they are today in the first place, was BECAUSE your justice system lacked any protection for citizens, and the DEATH SQUADS of corrupt police and government agencies would snatch people yp off the streets, and make them disappear into the jungle, their bones never to be found. this is what you have allowed to happen, again.
Absolutely. This guy has never lived it, and is reporting on a very old prison/court system. And even worse, he's listening to things like the Washington Post. Let him go to somewhere like Somalia and get even a glimpse of what they were like.
In a long post like this, it is best to use paragraphs and spacing. No-one reads books any more, so a large block of words just makes the eyes glaze over. This way you will get the upticks your excellent comment deserves.
I have another video I'm working on right now about how Bukele vigorously defends what he has done and accomplished. It's pretty good, I hope you get a chance to see it, and appreciate it.
I am a salvadorean and i can confirm the mobilization to stop the gangs was a complete success. The problem with the gangs was that innocent people suffered. The gangs were not against the state they just terrorized the neighborhood were they were in working as independent cells but all belonging to either 18 or MS. I don't support Bukele's authoritarian tendencies but i am surely grateful for the security his government has brought to my country after decades of neglect from "democratic" governments. Hope that people in other countries can truly witness the massive improvement in the country's security.
@ You do realize the guy is ridiculously popular over there, right? He also offered the EU to take in any one of the people swept up in these crackdowns that they thought were being mistreated. In Ecuador, there is massive popular demand to import Bukele's policies due to their own, even worse problems.
You are not making any sense bud. On the one hand you say that you don’t support Bukele's authoritarian tendencies but on the other you just told us how successful his policies are. Are you schizophrenic or just a bleeding heart liberal???
@@crowe6961do you know of any dictatorships that have ended well? It always ends badly because nothing is ever enough for a dictator, there is always more. More enemies, more traitors, more power, more looting…always more. Trading fear of the gangs for fear of the government, fear of illiterate cops who now feel the rush of their new found power over everyone else who isn’t a cop or soldier isn’t progress.
Went there 6 months ago after 11 years. The place feels so safe, the people are amazing and the hospitality is just out of this world. I was able to walk around my family’s neighborhood at night feeling extremely safe. The government is investing heavily in tourism and education. Anybody that thinks this is a dictatorship has never left the safety of their western bubble.
It's a philosophical question, for sure. The safety comes at the cost of who-knows-how-many thousand innocent people being locked up with little/no trial. It's safe for everybody until you're caught up in it (and no one ever thinks they will be until they are). Personally, I think they're trying to hammer a nail with a grenade and it will blow up in their faces later, but I also haven't lived through the uncertainty and violence they've lived through, so I'm not one to tell anybody they're wrong for supporting it.
Even a benevolent dictator, is still a dictator. Bukele won't last forever, who ever replaces him will inherit this authoritarian system he has built, can you say for sure if you would trust the next President?
@@1blackice1 the future is always uncertain, and that goes to every single nation. Nobody cared about El Salvador during the reign of terror that the gangs caused, I bet that most people never even read or actually thought about that situation. It’s just so funny how the world only starts caring once the shit holes start to straighten themselves up.
@@PalmelaHanderson If you had lived there during those times you would see that the measures taken are the only way out. We are talking about criminals that would shoot an 8 year girl just so they can get back at the government for locking up their “homeboys”
@@D4mnHomieit is still a dictatorship, but not all dictatorships are inherently evil. This is one of those cases where a dictator is acting in the best interest of the general public.
@@Jesus_Zendejas I remember a quote, not sure by who. "It's better to be poor in freedom, than to have riches in slavery". ''. I can imagine the people of El Salvador feel as if they've got their freedom back after being held hostage by the gangs for decades, being able to go outside safely, being able to go to work safely, not having to worry your child won't return home, that is more important than anything else.
@@jonathansibrian695you did well in electing him. I can't speak on his economic skills, but I feel not having to give away 50% of your income to gangsters is an economic boom in itself
@@jonathansibrian695 you elected him to take your freedom and rights away. you voted in your last election. you didn't vote to eliminate gangs. you voted to make bukele the only legal gang. the bukele gang now has the monopoly on violence. well what can i say. this isn't new in latin america. soon all the street gangsters will be dead and bukele will need more slave labor, so now anyone who criticizes bukele can now be considered a gang member, because "bukele can do no wrong. if you think he's doing wrong, you must be the one who's wrong." See how quickly this can devolve into north korea? Oh yeah by the way, north korea has zero homicides. does that mean we should want to emulate their society?
it's easy to talk about human rights when you're sitting comfortably in your house, not having to worry if your son will catch a bullet for walking on the wrong street, or if your daughter will be kidnapped raped and ransomed, or if the gang will show up at your door threatening you for your money for groceries for the week. what Bukele has done for his country, for the Salvadorean people, is quite amazing.
No, Americans absolutely have to worry about that. This isn't a safe country. Not nearly as bad as what was happening in El Salvador but saying Americans don't also worry about that is asinine. Doesn't mean we go arrest anyone who feels nervous around cops or the government.
@@Gdub33People who don't feel safe in the US in the way you described probably agree with OP as well. The comment was more about the virtue signaling morons who pat themselves on the shoulder for tweeting hashtags about an issue or the money grabbing politicians screaming about climate change while flying their private jets everywhere, in short... hypocrites.
I promise you this, 90% of gang violence is against other gangs or members. There is no scale to where gang violence even as a whole is ever worse than the suffering that a government can inflict.
My sister-in-law is from El Salvador. She and her family escaped 30 years ago. The stories she has told make horror stories seem like fairy tales. About 12 years ago, she visited her relatives in El Salvador, with her father and sister. She only felt safe phoning my brother and their children during the day, which was the middle of the night here in Australia. This was because if gang members heard her speaking English there was a strong chance they would kidnap her, r*** her, ransom her, and then probably still kill her even after they received the money. So, it is understandable why people of El Salvador have welcomed this new president.
Yes, but where just saying to be cautios, this is how dictatorships are made, now if you think dictatorships are good then by all its your belief but just know whats going up and own up to your own lies
@@miliba dictators arent dictator to the people when they start, is when they end, and with buckele where just saying to be cautioues and wait for time will tell if he wont end up like maduro
My wife’s family is from el salvador, if you heard the stories of violence and brutality regular salvadorian had to go through, you’d throw “human rights” out the window.
I am Salvadoreño and will say the most important factor is the loyalty of the troops and the devotion of the citizenry Corrupt systems could never better a nation
As a honduran that has experienced about the same level of gang violence as people from our brother country el salvador. It was worth every godd*amn second
I’m currently in El Salvador spending Christmas with the family and I’ve gotta give much props to President Bukele. The streets are free of gangs. Tourism has picked up and I actually feel safer here than in my home streets of Los Angeles, CA. Now that’s saying a lot.
@@Triple_J.1Sounds like the government in california and in the united states under the disguise of “democracy “ when we are really an oligarchy lol How does that sound ? Just pull the mirror in front of yourself and come to the realization his actions worked ! I don’t believe in total absolute power kind of like an all democratic ran california but in dire situations in order to set “law and order” it’s takes a dictator to move with swift and fast immunity! I don’t think he’s a bad guy and if the people are happy and safer that’s all that matters ! There has been bloodshed for the last 30 + years and all you are worried about is the optics of how it looks based on your ideology and indoctrination of how you grew up ! Learn to be more stoic and look at things in context rather than basic pseudo intellectual taking points ! He put a fire out that has been burning for the last 30 years so don’t complain about the smoke that went into the air !!!!
4 minutes in and you already pointed the exact reasons why Salvadorans don’t care what the international communities have to say about said measures. Because gang members are not humans and therefore they do not deserve human rights.
The problem is when innocent people are declared gang members and imprisoned without a trial. I’m not from there but from my understanding this was a somewhat necessary step. The big thing is were it goes from hear
I am from Singapore. Believe it or not 40 to 50 years ago we had many gangs, but our late Supreme Leader changed all that. Now we are one of the safest country on the planet.
@@freddiemercury2075 Singapore is great. Been there last year and felt safe even at night and as a woman. You can be so proud living in a safe, clean and quiet country.
@@nvh682 but there are downsides, for example it's considered the most expensive country in the world to live in. Also, the weather is pretty hot and humid too. Lastly, lots of people would agree that the Singapore government runs Singapore like a company.
Why do the media keep calling El Salvador's government a dictatorship? This Bukele dude won where liberal Western governments failed, Bukele is a hero in my book.
@@Alligatortoofafter he got elected by a huge fucking margin. The public seriously loves him there more than any American politician at the least. Even after his dictatorship rules the majority have no problems with him. That might change if he becomes more dictator like but rn he doing good
I remember having a female classmate from El Salvador back in the 2nd grade in Ottawa, Canada. She almost always had a smile and seemed very happy to be living in Canada. I now can understand why. El Salvador is a frightening place.
In a world of media outlets serving as echo chambers with tactfully hidden agendas, this video is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for presenting both arguments and allowing the viewer to decide. Maybe critical thought isn’t dead.
@@dariohenriquez7773for real this video acting like the damn gangs who terrorized El Salvador for a decade deserve a second chance. He also didn’t bring up how previous government was corrupt as fuck.
My step mother, who is from El Salvador, loves that the gangs are almost gone. She actually wants to go visit her home again. Something she told me she would never do.
i wasnt born in el salvador, but my family was. i have a friend who complains that el salvador is violating human rights. i said to him: “would you rather live in a country with strict laws but almost no murders or violence, or a country with loose laws, but with of gang murders and violence?” he did not respond to the question.
just came back from El Salvador this past weekend, military members were present @ all public locations and local police, not once did they bothered me, in fact it felt quite safe, graffiti was no where to be seen, the only thing that sucks is the traffic jams, but that’s nothing to the horrors local people experienced. My godparents and friends told me stories, the moment anyone opened some type of small business there would be someone asking for monthly/weekly collection/extortion. if the business sold food, they would take some of it to feed their members, if the business refused they would send someone an enforcer or kill the business owner or someone in their family. they would also demand for the children to join the gang or else they would kill them or kill a member of the family until they joined. Young girls often involved crimes of rape, murder, etc.. the MS would even collect from the very poor whom were asking for money in the streets, people in buses would be robed, if refuse they would shoot the bus and everyone in it. So when a president whom has done the impossible possible to incarcerate many gang members and associates (which had infiltrated the churches, police, judicial, military.etc) that during my stay I witness children leaving their bicycles in the street with no fear of those being stolen, because they believe they are now protected by someone whom really cares about them and their families it speaks volumes. When I served in the naval forces, had the chance to travel to several countries under a dictatorship, El Salvador does not resemble nor is close to one.
God bless you and I'm sorry for what you suffered Thank you for taking the time to share your story. Liberals and their lawlessness needs to hear your story
And what about all the innocent people that he incarcerated at the same time while rounding up gang members without the right to a fair trial? Ok, so I'm sorry, but you do understand that when you were in the NAVY, that el Salvador was NOT A dictatorship, it was a democracy. The point is, that he took a bunch of rights away from the people like "the right to defend yourself if you are arrested but are innocent of the charges" and that El Salvador is going to BECOME a dicatatorship. you see Edwin? Now Edwin i know you are hispanic, but you aint one of those hispanic trump supporters are you? I just cant keep a straight face, Edwin, at the ridiculous naivity of your post. Its as if you have turned your back on the idea of democracy, while living in a country with all the benefits OF a democracy. Edwin, would you be ok if Biden wrote an executive order which suspended the rights to a fair trial for Jan 6th insurrectionists, and then just rounded up anyone who was found to be sympathetic the coup attempt on social media along with Trump and his traitor gang that attacked the Capitol? Like would you be ok if the DOJ just locked up TRump because the MAJORTY of americans are convinced he is guilty of his crimes, just like the majority of El Salvadoreans are convinced that having secret police squads that do not answer to the law, is just fine to sweep up gang members and innocent bystanders alike? And what about the next step? Since the police in el salvador are no longer answering to the supreme court or the people, they can literally just make people disappear without consequence. Thats what you think is good for the long term future of el salvador? Like why didnt Bukake at least try Economic reform FIRST, like taking away the 2% that own ALL the coffee bean fertile land in El Salvador for hundreds of years; its been the same few families, why not break that up and give it back to the people ,so they can make a living exporting coffee beans which is the main export, and has been controlled by 2% of the population? But the people are so used to being slaves without freedom, they allow themselves to be conned into thinking that taking away people's rights for any reason whatsoever is a "good solution" when history has PROVEN it NEVER works. Trump supporters are just as ignorant about true freedom and liberty as these uneducated peasants are.
Yes. No American can fathom what it was like down before. Don't listen to these whining 'human rights' people, who did not worry about the human rights of normal citizens trying to live their lives in peace under the gangs. Where were they for all those years? Tell them to get lost. My ES family is so much happier, like being freed from jail themselves. Don't listen to anyone who did not live there before, they have no right of opinion on the matter. We support Bukele and plan to visit this year to finally enjoy the wonderful country and people.
@@strannick2212 Liberalism towards the police started because of unjust laws targeting poor black communities, leading to a gazillion convictions for low-level shit. Which led to attempted reform and Portland being a hellhole. And now we're back at square one again with a militarised police force.
It won't. Even a fool can see that. What happens when you pack 1/4 of a countries population into overcrowded detention camps? If you think that is a road to peace then I can't wait to look at you shocked face in 10 years.
I lived in El Salvador when all of this happened. Left the country and didn’t return till a week ago. My family was put at gun point because they couldn’t pay their money to the gangs. I use to get calls from my family for money. Not for them but for the gangs. Finally after 16 years I returned and it was a fresh of nice air and my family is so blessed to have the president they have
As someone if Salvadoran decent my mother would talk about her love for our country but fear she felt in it. She fled to the US to escape all of the violence. Ever since bukele took over she has expressed excitement about wanting to return. I'm 24 now and the last time I was there I was 3. Me and my fiance talk about going to El Salvador to visit and it's such a beautiful thought to return
It’s very disingenuous to say that they are sacrificing human rights and civil liberties when they’ve never truly had these rights afforded to them to begin with. And it’s even more dishonest to say that people with “just a tattoo” are being arrested. Some of the acts they have to commit to earn those tattoos are definitely enough to have earned them a seat at the Nuremberg Trials after WW2.
I see it in a simple way - the higher crime rate grows, the closer you're to chosing whether you prefer the right to vote and right to live, rights of criminals and rights of children.
Yeah if you have certain tattoos, and aren’t a member of the gang those tattoos are affiliated with; boy oh boy, that person is going to be in for a world of hurt. Impersonating a gang member when not apart of said gang, they don’t take kindly to that, not in the slightest.
Thats very true. Also... literally ZERO innocent people will copy the tattoos of one of these gangs as like a personal tattoo for fun. That kind of disrespect to the gang will get you murdered. Which means 100% of people with a distinct gang tattoo is a hardened member of a gang
Those who didn't live in Pre-current day El Salvadaor have no idea just how mind-grating awful it was to live there because of the gangs, particularly MS13. There are active warzones that were less terrible. This is a group who ruled the streets with an terror and an iron fist. If you don't 'respect' them (which can be anything on the day they arbitrarily decide), they'll kill you, your family, and your daughters/sisters/gf will be taken to experience even further atrocities. You cannot start a small business because the gangs will soon visit you demanding 'protection money', and if you don't or can't pay them, they'll destroy your business and/or kill you. They frequently travel around the streets and if you look at them the wrong way, a beating is your best case scenario. You call the cops? Guess what, those cops are either on the take and will report you to the gangs or they're not on the take but they're so helpless they can't do anything to help you. You want your kids to be able to go out and play? They could get caught in the crossfire of gangs, they could be abducted or targeted by the gangs for recruitment, or if they're a pretty girl they could just get straight up abducted and trafficked. There is more, but you get the point, and the people of El Salvador had to endure this for decades. I couldn't imagine going through it for a month, let alone *decades* . If you wrap your head around this, you'll understand why the new Presidente has so much support from the public. All those out-of-touch Western academics and liberals who think the gangs just need jobs and government hand outs are like the naïve fools in movies who think they can reason with the serial killer.
Thank you. Good to hear from someone who experienced it firsthand rather than uber liberal academics that live in gated communities and debate social theories without ever having to experience the consequences of their "enlightened policies"
@@weirdshibainu Thank you, but just a correction that I didn't live there, but I did read extensively and watch many interviews of El Salvadorians on the situation, and some of what they said was hard to believe. The sheer savagery of the gangs is like something out of a history book on medieval battles, and it's a reminder that genuine evil exists in this world and it has no interest in 'rehabilitating' or being decent in society. Western liberals/academics have no idea what they're talking about when faced with such barbarity, and I think that they hate the current president of El Salvador because his actions prove all of their theories wrong. No, he says, you don't bargain and reason with evil, you defeat it.
My wife is from el salvador. She hasn't been home in 17 years. We were finally able to go see her parents this year. Both our kids finally met their grandparents. El Salvador is a beautiful country, and places like el cuco, paradise surf, affordable vacations spots I highly recommended. As long as it stays safe, we plan on going back every year.
@@alexp.199 I'm Salvadoran, 90% of the population is mixed, the only black people I ever saw there were African diplomats or people from Honduras. Perhaps her parents moved there from Honduras. My point is she doesn't look like a typical Salvadoran.
Many call this man Alt Right and Authoritarian, but in my eyes he is the only person willing to do whatever it takes and a what is necessary to help the people. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Doesn't change the fact that he's a dictator and has effectively thrown away human rights. Even if he is successful, he has thrown away El Salvador's future. Stop 👢 licking.
Alt right is just what the globalists and far left call anyone who opposes the anarchy and social degradation they’re after. Their end goal is literally to turn the entire world into a third world and make everyone second class citizens, all under the guise of moral superiority and virtuous, inclusive values. The saddest part is that they don’t even realize they’re being played by their billionaire masters who just want to profit on others suffering.
I am new right and I will condemn this man. Freedom and truth is being killed live on television and honor is being toss down the river. Another tyrant in making selling humanity soul for quick fix will not solve the problem in a long run Moreover, the question will remain… where will the gang recruitment pool go now because they sure as hell will not diassapear?
I was in San Salvador for a week in July 2019. At that time I was not aware of the political climate of that country, but knows that safety was a big issue. The first night our driver was driving us to dt San Salvador and while on our way back at around 11pm the tire went flat and the driver said we were not in a safe neighborhood. The driver made a phone call and not even 3 mins passed a Cargo Van came by and 5 army looking dudes came out to guard us while the driver changing the tire. The driver told us after that these soldiers are deployed to patrol these neighborhoods and on call to protect foreigners when needed...
What is this you just did Simon? Is that real journalism I just witnessed. I forgot that existed. Thanks. This is the most balanced and unbiased true report I've seen about the truth in El Salvador I've seen. (coming from someone who got stabbed beaten and shot by this fellows who love tattoos)
It's genuinely hard for me to be concerned about human rights abuses happening to people who have been committing unspeakable crimes against humanity for decades.
The 90% have human rights that need to be respected too. And as law abiding citizens they should come first in the queue. Why should their rights be sacrificed to give rights to criminals. It is insane. So I would not worry about your lack of concern if I were you.
@MultiOpolis Doubt very much you know any real facts about this. I assume you are a leftist whatever. This comment sounds the same as "kids in cages" narrative. Yet with these same comments you have no problem with "gender affirming care" which is child mutilation and irreversible mental and physiological effects on children in your own country. Tell me I'm wrong, lie or gaslight again. Your playbook is played out.
My son's friend is from El Salvador, and his dad was forced into MS13. Obviously he escaped with his family at the first chance. I never have or will ask him about his time with them because as a fellow former gang member who has no business being in a gang I understand the things they may have asked him to do against his will and moral standing. Instead I commend him for his bravery to grab his young family and run away from, and at times past the worst gang of criminals we have ever seen.
It can be insane. I never joined a gang but I've driven guys around that nobody explicitly said anything but he was 100% using me to make his dealing mobile, and I made any potential cops ignore us.
@@arthas640cops ignored because they always work with gang members and now they do the same for the government. Military transport it and cops control the streets. Drugs will continue to reach the US.
"For having a tattoo" is a hell of a way to describe tattoos that you only have if you're murdered or raped someone and if you have the tattoo without having done so by the gangs you will yourself be on the receiving end of such. It's the type of tattoo that's an open confession.
do noot waste time. anglos and some europeans are beyond salvation. their knowledge comes from snowflakes that come to our countries and , being the world is not sunshine and rainbow as she think it is a given, she goes for the "victim". so they interview the mother of some mara, who, as you said, is more ink than skin. what do you expect? that mom will see it is justice to have his son in prison?. also, I ve spent a couple of seasons in guatemala (work), they do have some maras, but is not big in guate. heard from at least 5 people the fact that having those tattoes if you are not mara is to put a mark on your head. the moment they find out, you are dead.
Everyone if you disagree go to El Salvador to help, because it is quite easy to give an opinion when you are sat on your couch without worring for your life or job
Chill, this is just criticizing the bad things el salvador is doing, that previous dictatorships use to hold into power and rightfully so, if you wanna be a nazi sure go ahead just dont be shock when you get told your the bad guy
Poverty doubled, health and education at its lowest in decades.. false security can only go so far if you stay in power by threatening to bring back gangs if you don't vote for him
I don t think the dictator suppress them to be honest. Yes. You depend on one man, but if the guy is good for his country then it s not a problem at all.
The parallels between why El Salvador loves Bukele and why the Philippines voted for Duterte in 2016 are extremely closely related. People who haven't been in the gutter are always so quick to judge without realizing why populist leaders' straightforward solutions are so popular.
The violence has observibly stopped but has the poverty, the initial impetus for the gangs. He kept mentioning Canada's low crime rate but Canada has yet to have a country so economically divided. Not yet!
As a Salvadorean, I grew up there until 1996 when I was 11 y/o and experienced/witnessed alot and more of what you speak of in the video. I can tell you that today, the people in El Salvador will tell you that 1.- not only was the price they paid for all this worth it, but that they would pay it again and again if nessesary. And 2.- That how can Nayib Bukele be a dictator when the people elected him, and are the ones who asked him to rewrite the constitution so he could run again. We’re A-O-K with it. Human rights groups need to stay the hell away because a lot of the problems in the past 30+ years were aided by their interference. They only protected the murdering rapists with tooth and nail but never once uttered a word for the parents having to bury their children or wives burying the husbands who were killed protecting their children from these monsters. The way we see it today, human right groups are just as guilty as the monsters we have been saved from, and if allowed to have their way, HR groups would be more than happy to release these bastards immediatly. To say you work for a Human rights group in El Salvador today is to ask to be looked at with disdain and disgust and some will even refuse to admit it in public out of fear of being spat on by the near public.
Indeed - it's almost as if "human rights" advocates don't consider victims of gangs humans, incredibly. Only gang members. How warped.......advocating for the people who have willingly seared their own humanity with a branding iron.......
@@Rox888-vx3hv From his actions, Nayib Bukele is not a true dictator yet. You are raging against any benevolent application of government power in extraordinary situations solely because you are conditioned that empty promises are better than actual results. Weak and impotent "democratic people" have been deceiving El Salvador for years with their promise of "utopian, clean and eventual solutions" for these people's problems. Nayib ENDED the problem in less days then the amount of years these "democratic advocates" were peddling their promises.
I have friends from there and I tell you this when the President told those gang members they were never leaviing prison alive, we cheered. I never thought I could ever go there and visit, but now it is safer than anywhere in America.
Note these issues weren't exactly "new" to El Salvador the issue with gang rule and retribution killings for not paying up goes back more than half a century. My brother-in-law is Salvadorian and his family lived in terror of deportation to El Salvador until the day they were made citizens as a deportation was equal to a death sentence if they were sent back to El Salvador; his step dad was actually deported back and was never heard from again after being processed at immigration. His step dad was an unwilling member of one of the gangs (essentially born into it and forced to work for the gang) and tried to flee with his family but because of his criminal history he was not granted immigration or refugee status like my brother-in-law and his currently pregnant mother. This would have been back in the early 90s.
@@ricardozetino6907 I'm thinking "pregnant at the time"...unless she's from one of those communities that think a woman who isn't pregnant isn't worth anything and must be giving birth for as long as they can (and start at a very early age) 😂. Like the Duggars...
@@ricardozetino6907 Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes, pregnant in the 90's when they immigrated. The fact my brother-in-law's brother (technically half brother but they don't make that distinction) was on the way was the reason his family decided to arrange for them to flee when they did instead of go the long due process route and hope they would get emergency refugee status.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley I don't know her too well. She is VERY traditional in terms of family values, generational homes, and religion... but she isn't delusional levels of traditionalist, so it was just my brother-in-law and his brother
I was born and raised in El Salvador, and must I say I love this video, this is the one and only true representation of the conflicts in the country that I have seen from a foreign channel. Absolutely everything said in this video is true, and has been majorly reported in the news or heavily debated between scholars in the country. Normally anytime I watch a video about my country it is either too stupid to believe the propaganda as absolute truth or only mention one specific issue while ignoring the rest. I genuinely admire this work and appreciate that you have brought this conversation alight, given that in ES there is no longer free speech as you will be targeted for speaking against the government, this is truly remarkable and I as well as many people from El Salvador thank you for this.
Can you elaborate on being targeted for speaking out against the government? My family has not complained of this and are extremely happy now. Only a few of their socialist neighbors still like the previous socialist regimes better, but they had jobs in the FMLN party and lost them.
I'll withhold comment on the situation in El Salvador and simply say thank you for these videos and the work you guys do. Your efforts in highlighting the nuance of so many deeply complex and culturally significant conflicts and geopolitical situations are sincerely appreciated, and a big part of why I watch this channel. In today's overwhelmingly partisan, "black and white" media landscape, your dedication to presenting events in the most fact based, unbiased way you can, and to reminding your viewers that the world exists entirely in shades of grey, is noticed and appreciated. Thank you again for all your hard work, Warographics team!
His video is made with a dual purpose. For us that live in el salvador 🇸🇻 know the reality. The video is misleading because is mixing part of the truth and part that is fake. Either they do it intentionally or don't know better.
@semaj_5022 If i tell u, you won't believe it. If u really interested in this subject, I will suggest u do your own research. Only the ones living here know the reality of what is happening. Many call it a miracle, but who am I to tell u that. Research our president first, go back 10 years , research all his videos, and form ur own opinion.
Here in New Zealand we are experiencing a serious increase in crimes and gang activity. Our government for the last few years gives them nothing but a slap on the wrist and much of my generation is talking about how we need to continue to be kind and treat criminals with 'love and compassion'... It makes my eyes roll - see where that has gotten us. I would love to see the people who say these things spend a day in El Salvador pre Bukele.
nobody is saying that. Its the american right wing propaganda that you shamefully allow yourself to be conned by has got you "parroting" that. Unless you can link to me an example.
@@raidermaxx2324 A lot of people are, the fact you think its 100% fake news shows how biased you are. Canada catch and release Bill C-75, the 2015/2016 New Years sexual assaults in Germany, the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. There was a viral video in 2020 of 2 refugees stowing away in the storage case of a British car throwing away the family's belongings and they were caught and released by police. Just look at the entirety of San Francisco police don't do their jobs there because its politically inconvenient. Its not hard to find soft on crime practices all over the western world, and you're playing for one side so hard you're writing this guy's concerns off as propaganda. Delusional.
@@raidermaxx2324 Well look at sweden were I live its exactly like that. We are fortunatly changing direction now. The thing is yoy need to steer it correctly so it does not get so bad that it can become a dictatorship like el Salvador.
@@raidermaxx2324 The left has for a long time advocated for softer treatment for non-violent crimes, and in some cases even for violent crime. It's not propaganda - it's state policy. I myself am from Argentina and can confirm as much has happened here, with drug trafficking, smuggling and squatting becoming a major issue due to our left-leaning parties' unwillingness to actually punish criminals, even encouraging such behavior when it came to squatting. Our newly elected president has promised a true crackdown on crime, and he's a man of his word. We'll see how well things go.
@findingmyway192: Apparently the "soft on crime" approach to equity is a worldwide phenomenon, brought about and supported by the globalists who are pushing for the collapse of all sovereign countries. They have managed to flood our govts and legal institutions with radical individuals who support their vision of a new world order. I commend Bukele's hard nosed approach to crime. Hard times call for hard decisions and the rights of the many, the law-abiding, the innocent, should be protected above the few who choose crime and lawlessness. Our govts have turned against it's people and it's to stop them before it's too late. At least you got rid of Jacinda Ardern, we're still stuck with Biden. Bless you, NZ. We're all in this together. Stay strong, stay safe and keep the faith! 🇺🇸💟🙏🇳🇿
El Salvador NEEDED an unorthodox method to completely tackle the violence in their nation thats how bad it was and this is what worked I can't argue with the results, I only hope that it continues to improve in El Salvador, but I am very much cautiously optimistic Extreme measures rarely get positive results in the long term but as I said El Salvador was desperate and thats more than enough reason why to understand that they did what they did Lets just hope the peace they have won for the moment continues
Once the economy grows and regular people have jobs and children get a good education, they can then relax their grip. South Korea's military rule was ruthless after the Korean war. Taiwan's military government after they retreated there in 1949 was equally ruthless. Singapore also managed to finish off the communists in the 60's. These countries have free elections but their people are all very aware of how easily things can go wrong.
@@DennistheMenace2011I agree and I really hope that is the outcome I hope this goes the way S. Korea did in the 60s when the authoritarianism was finally relaxed
@@kingace6186 I disagree, it remains to be seen if it will become a dictatorship South Korea had to undergo similar processes in the 1960s but they are better for it as a nation I will be cautiously optimistic, but when the levels of violence gets that bad to what we can only imagine having been outside of the world of El Salvador you accept unorthodox methods to combat the brutal savagery of the gangs The brutality of them is on par with that of the imperial Japanese government's actions in Nanking
@@rejvaik00 If you are interested, here are some videos from several years ago of how Singapore developed in the past 50 years. th-cam.com/video/zlhM7BkZnOE/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=iSeaChannel www.youtube.com/@martian9876 The leadership did what they had to do. They were pragmatic and played by their own rules in order to survive.
"As if wars or politics were some sort of football game". THIS!!!! THIS!!!! Thank you SO, SO much for your videos and for not dumbing down complex subjects.
I went through El Salvador in 2010 when I travelled overland from Mexico to Chile. It was grim and unpleasant. I met very nice people but felt bad for the lack of opportunity and constant fear of gangs. I'd arrive somewhere and would have to ask which areas the gangs controlled. It was basically everywhere. I am very happy that the crisis is over, something had to be done. I really hope they now take the opportunity to apply some due process to make sure those who were not involved in any wrongdoing are released. I think collateral damage is expected in crises this bad but now they can take the time to carefully remove the people who aren't part of the criminal world so there is justice as well as peace. But overall, as sad as it is to see the lack of democracy, it's good to see that people don't live in fear of rape and murder anymore.
Don't worry buddy. Eventually your silly little brain will come to realize that democracy does not produce anything good at all. How many countries in this world have a democratically elected president? How many countries in this world are completely ruined by their democratically elected officers? Answer: Pretty much all of them. Democracy is not the answer. It never was. Democracy is literally the same as a dictatorship. The 51% oppress the 49%. It is a tyrannical leader controlling a population. Right? Do you get it? 51% vote biden, 49% vote trump. Yet Biden gets to be the leader and tyrannical oppressor. Right? So 51% of population is happy and 49% of population gets squashed. Is that what you think is a cool system? Just taking turns beating up the other 50% of your country?
Lack of democracy? I think is the opposite, now we have a real democracy because the people choose in free elections the course of the country by re electing the president and his policies.
I cannot blame anyone there for feeling lack of rights is a small price to pay. Unless you've lived through that fear each day, you have no right to say any different.
The gangs in El Salvador have made it very easy for their Government to identify them. They literally tattoo a confession. The crimes initiates perpetrate to become a member are well known. They should be afforded the same ‘human rights’ and mercy they showed their victims.
@@gypsydildopunks7083 Yeah, the video covers that - It's horrible, but prior to this crackdown it was worse. Unfortunately people are getting caught in the dragnet.
Returning to this video for some reason. Simon thanks for working to keep this video balanced with the good of what's happening and the bad and controversial. It's certainly not easy for your team. But your work is important.
I just returned from El Salvador from a week-long trip and spoke to many of the locals about the life they are living under the new president and all I heard were great things. The country has turned around to become a place they are proud of and finally can make a living in peace. Since they started the war against the gangs and corrupt politicians, the locals are free to return to a life of normalcy, enjoying the nightlife, being able to travel the streets safely, commerce without fear of being extorted, and be free without fear of the gangs. As the country is heading towards a re-election year, I hope this new trend continues as with the direction it is going, it will have a prosperous future and is currently a great vacation destination.
@@Rox888-vx3hv He is not saying that's what he thinks. He is saying that's what people who lives there think. I have the same experience. I spent 10 days there and people would spontaneously tell you how much better it is and how much they like their current government. The people who live there, not me, not my opinion, their opinion.
@tornaperinso1484 I just returned after living there for 4 years. The general consensus differs, especially the families that don't have remesas supporting a lifestyle the majority can not afford.
I can picture the best and worst outcomes, but from an outsider who's mildly informed, I think the real threat is the next person to take his seat after he's done. Paradise can turn into a nightmare real quick with the right/wrong person in that much control. I also feel like this guy's name is going to make it into a song like Cult of Personality 40 years from now.
Trust me. What Bukele is doing is nothing new. In fact, it's just the cycle repeating yet again in Latin America. Some charismatic far right guy comes onto the scene somehow having all the solutions to very complex problems. He pretends to solve some problems, pumps his record with state-owned media, and then consolidates all power. You're seeing in El Salvador not the elimination of gangs, but the consolidation of all violence and power into one gang, the Bukele gang. Make no mistake. Power corrupts. Bukele's true face will start to unravel in a few years. By then it will be too late for El Salvadorans.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Throughout history many dictators started out with good intentions when they seized power, but most of them became what they fought against.
This is the typical pro-democracy cope. People would rather live in shitholes filled with violent crime than entertain the idea of letting one leader fix everything.
"Over the last year with this channel we've been been trying to inch away from the partisanship which seems to affecting so many outlets. The strange tendency to pick a side and then only report what your viewers want to hear, as if war and politics were some kind of a football game". It's hard to put into words just how refreshing it is that this channel tries to step away from from blind partisanship in this day and age. Thankyou Simon and the Warographics crew for actually trying to inform us and help us truely understand, rather than simply trying to generate outrage in your audience for clicks.
So people who processing then are also criminals and so on ... Also there are is a huge percentage of innnocent people in jail, through the lack of human rights and because they lived in poorer areas.
@@kwokleongawyong1064 The press there is very limited and controlled by the dictator, which also makes the surveys and data a bit suspicious ... But as said in the video, there where no trials people got arrested, without doing something on goodwill of the police, mist citizens know at least one innocent person who is arrested .... And yes gangs are often licated un lower class areas, but they arrested anyone slightly related to them your brother have a gang tattoo or a tatto where the police things is a gang tattoo(maybe even quited the gang before years) so you got arrested. You have struggle to run your vegetable Business without the gangs, you are likely get arrested becquse you pay then and maybe talk with then 3-4 sentences ... You frrak out cause the police touch your daugther, you get arrested because it is a goodwill decision of the police - and the police there isnt all heros they are corrupt(ed).
My wife is from Ecuador and man you really nailed it with this video. You did a fantastic job of capturing her sentiments as well as the practical concerns. Earned a sub with this one.
If you’ve ever watched the raw footage of how these gangs establish and maintain control of a piece of turf, it’s easy to understand why no one care how they’re gotten rid of. They could install a giant meatgrinder at these prisons, and sell inmates as dog food, and people would buy it.
Democracy wasn’t healthy enough to combat the gang violence. A firm hand is needed to combat the gangs, no compromise. It is concerning that democracies are failing left and right around the world.
What we had back then wasn’t even democracy. The two parties were playing hot potato with the country and stealing as much money as they could. I wish westerners had given a shit back then as much as they do now.
Because voters are selfish and only care about their own property value first and foremost. Everything else around them can kick rocks for all they care. NIMBY’s are a far bigger cancer than corporate greed. The other issue is that over 90% of the time, voting leads to sociopaths and psychopaths getting elected. It’s just the nature of popularity contests. No way around that. Election by uncaring, unthinking lottery would yield a far better distribution of society’s members.
What people like you who only care about short term gain do not realize is that there is no such thing in el salvador as "combating gangs." It's actually just a transition of power from the gangs to Bukele's gang, who now runs the largest and only legal gang, and who has the monopoly on violence.
I'm from Usulutan, El Salvador. I watched your videos covering El Salvador in the past and I honestly didn't enjoy them that well because there is so much that needs to be covered and you've recognized that its a complex topic. I love this President. I used to really not care and thought Bukele was just like or at least will become into the thing we hate here. Corruption from the state was so normalized that the opposition is scared because come febuary FMLN and ARENA will no longer exist, no one supports them not even their financiers from the States. At this point I don't care if the PNC detain me for a stupid reason, and I don't care If the Regime of exception imprisons me. I know all of you will read this and say I'm foolish. But if you aren't guanaco you can never comprehend what its like watching kids today just being kids playing the park, and walking around with airpods at night in your neighborhood. I love what happened and I support the PNC, FGR, and the army and their operation in the control of the territory. He isn't the president for the next 6 months because the Reelection is being done by the books, the opposition has tried that in the past the only reason they are upset about it now is because its not them in power anymore the republic has spoken.
I suppose the risk of being erroneously locked up while living in a peaceful country probably doesn't seem that bad when the alternative is the possibility of being murdered (or worse) in a country likened to a war zone. And I don't think any of us who haven't had to make that choice have the right to tell you it's the wrong one, either way.
What are you prepared to do when the gangs inevitably turn these prisons into fortresses full of new recruits to add as soldiers? Do you El Salvador is immune to Brazil’s problems?
@@Ellie-rx3jtMy friend lived in Darfur growing up and had to leave as a result of genocide. Does it take a genocide expert or a person who went through it themselves to say that violations of human rights are inherently immoral?
Bukele is a miracle for El Salvador from the most dangerous country in the world to the safest country in America it was worse than Afghanistan in war.
Your channels and videos are great. It's so refreshing to listen to someone just report news of what's going on instead of preaching or pushing a political agenda. We need more non-partisan news
My mom survived the war and moved over here with her siblings and my grandma and grandpa I’m so proud of them, it must of bin crazy and hard to leave but at the same time they had to choice I always remember that she lives thru a war and it always reminds me how strong she is. I love you mom ❤️
As a natural born American citizen that owns land in El Salvador, I can say that Bukele brought security and prosperity to El Salvador. Average Americans underestimate how highly organized and heartless the gangs were. They would kidnap little girls and homes just for fun. Bukele addressed a broken system in which repeat offenders kept their communities in terror and the cops had their hands tied (sound familiar?) Also keep in mind that their Congress was voted in just like he was. The ones crying are mostly the lefties that made treaties with the gangs/ or fled the country after stealing money. BTW, Mr Martinez and El Faro are an activist organization. The guy even said that gangs have their place in society. There is construction and businesses opening up everywhere in El Salvador. Only time will tell the final outcome, but whose crying contributed to the problem and never offered a real solution. Do your homework for yourselves folks. And I would also encourage Americans to see it for themselves. :)
I've lived in western Europe all my life and yeah there are problems, but I've never exeprienced even 1% of what salvadorian endured those last years, so I just refuse to blame them nor would I dare talk to them about human rights or so. Good for them. This Bukele seems to be handling things well and should pursue.
@@kingace6186 Shame the gangs took away the civilian's basic human rights. In such an extreme situation, I do not blame them for handling it the way they did. In the long run, I hope they turn back to democracy like Taiwan and South Korea did.
Thank you for actually being respectful to us about this situation. We have struggled for a long time without anyone noticing and now all some people have to say is how wrong we are to lock these monsters up.
I am a salvadoran born in Soyapango. I have lived my whole life in fear, always scanning the street for threats, always ready to run, kick or scream if I need to. You can get snatched and killed any second, it's war but a silent war! you never know where the bullet is coming from.
I am now 31, and I finally breathe in my country. It feels like a totally different place, we are still a poor country but at least we're poor at peace, the terror is gone.
I'm happy that you're finally experiencing peace and that no one you know has been falsely imprisoned
Go over to Salvador,,, talk to prisioner
And if you aré convice, faund a inocent
The gobernent Will give It to you !!
BUKELE Is the true, meaning of humans rights. For good people no for evil animales !! And Is of Cristian values. !! It Is fear,,, one inocent?? For a thousen criminals than. 1000 dead for 1 asesin. !! Now from a barbarian state,,,,to a state of law,, peace, and prosperity. !! May the lord guide, AND protect PRESIDENTE BUKELE. !!
Give your life to Jesus, and you will receive everlasting life. John 3:16
Prosperity comes from peace never from chaos,once stability is achieved then the conversation can of rights and amendments can begin!
@@Bromos777 Christianity is for slaves
When Bukele received a bunch of criticism from European nations about the human rights about the wave of prisoner arrests, he calmly replied " I will give you any of them you chose if you want to take them and look after their rights in your country" . The response was silence.
It is telling that when other countries try to criticize Bukele, they don't do it out of concern for the citizens, but rather just trying to play an empty blamegame. None of the other countries want to take responsibility , but rather criticise something just for the sake of it.
@@lqlaliut897 exactly. they want to play their "look at me and how virtious i am" card, without actually having to sacrifice anything themself. Kind of like all those homeless activists that demand them to be able to setup tents in public parks and sidewalks anywhere, instead of just offering 1 or two of them to live rent free with them in their place.
Ripped the face of their smug hypocrisy. Like the mayors of dem sanctuary cities not taking border crossers
@@rubberroast1598 AMEN!
I said that exact thing to a family member
Perfect response!
I worked and lived in El Salvador for a mere 3 months back in 2018. Just around the months leading up to the election. I heard first hand stories about gang members regularly going into a bus and taking everyone's money and cellphones. I heard first hand stories from women who were openly groped in public by gangmembers who walked around with immunity because they were part of the gang. You couldn't just drive into any neighborhood, the gangs controlled entry and depending on the neighborhood they had different signals for entry. For example if you were driving up to a certain neighborhood you had to have the four way blinkers on your car, just to not get stopped automatically by gang members. Regular people were kidnapped for ransom. This video is not exaggerating when it says that gang members committed unspeakable and truly disturbing crimes against innocent women, children and men. There's always casualties in any war. And in the case of El Salvador this is a war that needed to be fought with a certain level of brutality.
As an American citizen I suggest our government and human rights organizations to stay the fuck out of El Salvadors business and start thinking about the things we could improve at home.
you are so right! it is so easy to judge the el saldavorian government as someone who lived in freedom and safety their whole lives.
Americans ought to remember who is driving the demand for the billion-dollar narcotics industry in the first place...
The U.S. gives El Salvador financial aid! so no! The U.S won't stay the fuck out!!😂
@@conorcorrigan765 the world, people all over the world like cocaine
@@xandercrews4729 True, the difference is most people around the world don't have the kind of money to spend on coke that Americans do.
I'm a 71 year old woman and I remember the nightmare of El Salvador. No one was safe, families were destroyed, children killed for revenge. It was hell on earth for people just trying to live. Thank you Mr. Bukele, the whole country thanks you.
Somebody 12 years old remember the nightmare of El Salvador. Dunno why you bring up the topic of age.
@@AlbertKel maybe because it was way worst 71 years ago, than 12 years ago, even
@@commandingsteel no it was worse 8 years ago then in a 100 years
I'm happy that you have found your piece.
Like America is getting.
El Salvador is the perfect example of using the obvious solutions to the obvious problems and them obviously being resolved.
Exactly my country also implemented this kind of crack down and it is working.
But did that need to come at the cost of democracy? Will Bukele restore Democracy in the next decade or more? When the gangs are gone for good What will happen with no impetus for its crack downs?
@willichtenstein7071 wich is worse? The dictator in the capital or the 30 dictators on your block.
@mrspeigle1 Honestly I'd rather there be 1 than many, I just wish the government would crack down on our billionaire dictators here in the US. I know it won't happen though.
@@willichtenstein7071He is already starting to pull back the brutality. His crackdown on gangs includes providing scholarships for poor students
I'm a Salvadorean, it hasn't been this peaceful in decades. The "solution" to the gang issues is only proportional to the issue itself, previous governments made half assed attempts at fixing the issue and it just kept getting worse.
Also, I have a bunch of tattoos, the authorities know not all tattoos are gang tattoos. If you abide by the law there's literally no issues.
>The "solution"... is only proportional to the issue itself
That is a really good way to put it.
Thanks for commenting
Just a bunch of bleeding heart progressives who'd rather you suffer for the poor misunderstood gangers.
The solution is vigilantism, it has been for thousands of years. When the government or the king won't send men to take care of bandits, the people will come for them. This is ALSO the solution for a corrupt government. This scares the government so they don't like it when people have vigilantism. They want the people to feel powerless, you are just a number to them.
so how do you fix your poverty and economy now?
My wife is Salvadorian and the stories she’s told me from when she visited when she was younger are insane. I went with her and her family earlier this year and her family said it was the most peaceful and safe it’s been in their whole lives (some of them were teens during the civil war). I can see where this can become dangerous if the wrong man comes into power but Bukele has transformed that country it’s beautiful and I can’t wait to go back.
For anyone curious my wife told me that at 13 years old she went to visit a sick aunt and when they reached the entrance about 6 guys covered in tatts head to toe came up to their car with guns aimed at them (Kids and elderly in the car) if it wasn’t for their uncle driving who recognized one of the gang members and said he knew his father who knows what could’ve happened. My wife just remembers one of the guys grabbing his junk with one hand and pointing a pistols with the other blowing kisses at her and her twin sister. If this dictatorship means safety from that hell from before gimme some more of that.
❤🤲
Bukele success... for today. tomorrow? a tyrannical brutal tyrant. every. single. time. people love them, as long as its not them personally being illegally sent to heinous prisons. predictable. but they always turn. ALWAYS. then there will be new levels of hell to pay.
🥱🥱🥱🥱🤦
Its not dangerous, I'll tell you why buckle is able to do this because he has 99% of the country on board. The people give government authority to change the Constitution. Not the government itself the moment the people feel the government is missusing power is the time when people don't elect them again and they lose all support from the people making it to where they cant move a finger and change things any longer. The issue here in America is noone is united everyone is divided. In el Salvador everyone has united to end the gang violence even people from abroad that are in America in other countries that are Salvadorian support buckles decision 100%. America doesn't have that it has the Dems and Republicans are going against each other on everything they cant come together at all.
Bukele is a hero that has literally saved thousands of lives.
100 percent true
Millions
That's facts.
important to acknowledge these gangs started because of US deportation policy, deporting criminals to a weak El Salvadoran government in the 90s allowed them to flourish in the first place
He is still a wef puppet, a wolf in sheep's clothing
One thing not mentioned in this video is what Bukele has done besides the crackdown on gangs. He's also invested a ton in infrastructure, economic growth and welfare/poverty reduction. That's the other side of his strategy. Just as the War on Terror failed because more terror arose, often wars on crime fail to tackle root causes of poverty, unemployment and dissatisfied youth. That's what Bukele has done otherwise. He's made gang life as unappealing as possible, while making a peaceful life as reachable as possible. It's actually pretty brilliant when you look at it that way.
How's he paying for it? Is he borrowing money? Or did he raise taxes (so that what used to be the gang's cut is now his)? Don't get me wrong, I hope it's successful. Stopping people from becoming gangsters in the first place is the best way to stop the problem coming back. But where is the money coming from? El Salvador is not a rich country.
@@Pushing_Pixels You can actually tax the money people are spending if the gangs do not steel it, it's not that the government takes the cut the gangs took before and more that the money is back in natural circulation.
Plus the funny thing is, the same decentralization that was supposed to uphold the democratic principles lets you obscure how government money is used(or stolen) easier. Apparently when your government has a ruling super-majority and a president that does not take "not your business, fuck off" as an answer, for the first time in history they are forced to actually explain where the money is going.
@@Pushing_Pixels "The government taking the gangs cut" 😂 You can't be serious. Its disingenuous to compare the 'benefits" a gang offer from extortion to those of the duly elected government. Here's a clue: the gangs aren't building roads, bridges, or funding education.
@@Pushing_Pixelsin the end, people will gladly pay more taxes if it mean their safety is improve upon
I bet people are able to pay more taxes now that they can spend their money inside of the system instead of letting it go into gangs pockets. Theres alot that could be done in the u.s. in terms of budget just removing bureaucratic bullshit in general honestly.@@Pushing_Pixels
The citizens never sacrificed their civil/human rights to end the gangs. The gangs had taken their rights long before Bukele and now Bukele isn’t taking any more than what the gangs took but now is giving something back in return. You now run the risk of getting falsely imprisoned but before him you had a much higher likelihood of getting murdered or mutilated.
This. 100% this.
The government hasn't taken any rights from us...on the contrary: we are more free now then ever before
Time will tell.
But history shows that resorting to dictatorship ends poorly more than often...
@@etienne8110 augusto Pinochet and Franco entered the chat
@@LegendaryCollektor yeah exactly.
Follow the trail of corpses those 2 left behind...
Im salvadorean, I live in the US, and I go to visit El Salvador at least 4 times a year because bukele made it possible… 1st world countries will never understand the struggle! Bukele FOREVER!!!!!!
Plenty of Americans know just how bad gang violence can be. The US isn't exactly a peaceful place.
First world countries are full of left wing retards who make it possible for gang violence to thrive.
@@5kplamse you're comment reads 9 seconds ago (I don't know why that's important.) but I agree with you: Only in the USA, "protective custody" of Planet Earth, can gangs even exist. All the more reason to avoid the $hit.
@genesssisss, be careful! Bukele FOREVER will evolve into Buke 4evr (so it will fit on you're knuckles), and you will be at war with Americans who do not need the org.
@5kplamse Yeah, the lefties LOVE criminals and rapists.
I am a first generation American, with parents who lived and fought in the Salvadoran Civil war. Ive had family members who are/were gang members, and have been arrested as well as family members who have been killed and disappeared by the gangs. Bukele is a national treasure, the one man responsible for ending the suffering and tragedy in El Salvador, a people who have never enjoyed peace since its existence. Not in the 1800’s, not during its decade long Civil War in the 80’s, and certainly not for its 30 years under gang control. Bukele delivered National pride, joy, freedom, peace and happiness to El Salvadorans. Its truly remarkable. What he has done is something every true Salvadoran, who has lived through its nightmare history will tell you is absolutely justified. No one should tell Salvadorans how to feel about their affairs, let alone the US who facilitated its violence and poor state for decades, because the Salvadoran people are now truly free and happy to live.
I think that if we want to tell El Salvadore what to do, we should be prepared to pay for it. If we want the prisoners to have better conditions, well, we can help ease the burden on the El Salvarodan government to help that happen. Nothing they are doing is easy. You can't run a safe prison without well trained guards, money for food, a budget for healthcare...
But they need the prisons, even if it means running them without those things. The US could could offer an alternative.
Hell, we have experience with mass incarceration.
Your hubris will lead too down fall of you don’t learn the lessons from other dictatorships that came before your.
@@noahgray543 No, keep the US interference out of there. Bukele is doing what needs to be done and he's successful at it.
If a criminals’ rights are protected to the point where the victims rights are overlooked or removed then there is a problem with the system.
Yep. That is the USA today, unfortunately.
@@tobystevens3109 Such as?
Basically the UK. If you defend yourself in any way you'll get a harsher punishment than the person assaulting you.
Sadly the USA is sinking into the same mud with this poisonous idea. Poverty doesn't cause crime, it's always crime that causes poverty.
Sadly the western world is choosing to embrace this insane ideology. “Criminals are victims. How dare you resist assault?” In these “progressive” places you’ll get arrested for defending yourself or someone else. Criminals are more and more brazen. I watch in real time as my city turns into a s**thole.
The only deterrent is punishment and the promise of consequences. Without consequences people will do whatever they feel like doing no matter who it harms.
I lived in El Salvador for a year in the late 2000s, death and murder were daily sights. I saw my first dead body within 15 minutes of arriving, my boss was kidnapped, and coworkers extorted.
I applaud what the President has done, most of the rich preferred to live in their bubble and make fake promises when election time came. What he has done is bring peace to a country that never imagined it possible.
He fixed the broken country. I give him credit for saving the economy and protecting his citizens against violence.
Yes, he did a great job fixing the gang problem.
I just hope that he doesn't become a Tyrant and keeps working for the good of his people.
I would love to visit El Salvador in the future.
Next...when BTC, hits 100k/coin...it's people will become wealthy. Then. Crime will have no place in El'Salvadore. So this prelude of taking "losers" off the streets.. will pave the way to this country being invaded by the World's millionaires. .who finally realize that BitCoin is the only way to transact proper exchange for goods/services worldwide.
Vendors...rich vendors worldwide...will seek to go where BTC is ubiquitously accepted...then spread out... again...and again. Ad all world Fiat/paper monies finally fie by 203_.
@@sushmag4297Dictatorships can be tyrannical but so can dumbocracy.
@sushmag4297 oh he'll become a tyrannical just wait.
He did bungle the covid response by buying into alt-medicine bullshit and he tried to integrate crypto into the economy right when it crashed. For every great idea that comes from a dictatorship, there's a few horrible ones that cause irreversible damage. I'm willing to give Bukele the benefit of the doubt because he did crack down on El Salvador's number one problem, though
I am El Salvadoran and President Bukele did a good thing because my family in the 80s and 90s were scared of the gangs and now they can be in peace
Pretty soon that peace will be gone and they will be scared of the gang (aka the government).
It's sad that the lives of your family were so horrifically bad that they think living in a state of emergency from the government is a good thing.
I hope the power doesn't go to Bukele's head and that he stays righteous. However, if you studied history you would know this never happens. I give this a .0005% chance this government will not end in another long lasting catastrophe for your people. I'm sorry but it's simply history repeating itself over and over.
Amazing how the world stage ignores the horrors of the gangs and their workings but as soon as they face tough conditions in prison its a human rights outrage. I know it is more complicated than that, but surely you get the point.
Exactly. If they didn't live there before then they have no right of opinion in the matter.
Funny enough is that the people who have a problem with it are non el Salvadorian people who probably never been in South America before
The west hypocrisy
These are probably the same people who would have your life destroyed if you misgendered them or triggered them. @@angryvaultguy
It is like at school, bullies and malcontents run wild and free and the second someone tries to stop them all the sudden everyone loses their minds.
When they say the gangs have vanished, they mean it. I just came back from a 3 week trip there and I have NEVER seen this country this peaceful. I went out to a park restaurant at night and nothing! No shake down. No guy asking for passage or protection money. NOTHING. That may seem normal in the US but that is crazy for El Salvador.
As far as the social justice, no one is being imprisoned for “just a tattoo“. Those tattoos are extremely specific (normally on the skull, behind the lips, and such [all gang specific branding, there is a reason all the people in the shots look similar]). Normally it’s not the neighbors pointing a finger, it’s a text chain they find on phone for drug dealers. Or it’s police that are finally arresting people that have been openly extorting for years.
As for political side, they were just as bad as the gangs. The main two parties that have ruling the country have been robbing the country blind for years. I’ll give you a specific example, they built a community center in my neighborhood for 150k. The only problem was it was 4 metal poles and a tin roof they threw together in an afternoon. What happened with the extra money? Into the mayor’s pocket. It’s not that they are taking power by force, people are voting for them willingly. The theft of funds by politicians has sunk to a low, they are actually investing in infrastructure. There has been more investment in roads in the last 3 years than I have seen in the decades that preceded it. Oddly enough there are now mandatory community meetings for people to put forth new civil projects that they would like to see (we actually get to vote on how the municipality spends funds! 🎉 We have gone from getting water once every 3 days to having running water everyday! [YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW AMAZING THAT IS]).
There also needs to be note in the explanation of presidential terms. It’s not that they can only have 1 term. It’s that they can’t have consecutive terms (people just don’t trust the other parties to continue what is currently being worked on).
well said ma man. all those liberal fucktards only know to spout bullshit all day long about "INNOCENTS"
Just goes to show there is no better system of government than a benevolent dictatorship.
@xv9021 nah. Hard pass on that. Self proclaiming himself as dictator was an ironic response that was taken out of context. Think of it as a "if you want to call me a name, fine. Whatever, I'll take it and move on." Kind of like dealing with a playground bully 😂
@@xv9021Just like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore.
@@xv9021 Sadly no, because even if you are the smartest, nicest and coolest of dictators, once you leave power (are overtaken, die or something) you leave behind a system that's going to be abused by a not-so-benevolent dictator
My dad is Salvadoran and he takes me and my sister there every other year! The most recent visits I’ve been there I’ve felt super safe and can tell how much better the country has gotten
Really? Like what changed? I’m curious
Like no crime you dolt
I have been through the airport many times and have seen it change quite a bit. I really want to go out and see the country. I love Salvadoran culture and would love to see more of the country. Saludos.
@@SleepyjoeOG like the other comment said the airport has become much nicer everytime i went there. Different tourist locations have become much cleaner and nicer along with the place i stay at which is more of a everyday kind of place. it also feels alot safer where im not hearing about people getting killed during the days im there.
@@juanpena7436 no shit I was curious how that sudden change effected things
I feel like visiting El Salvador. Namaste from India.
My uncle lived in ES, and I lost my uncle to these worthless gangs, he was just walking from closing his store and was shot in the head. My mom just showed me pictures and I was so enraged. So when Bukele came along, he was making progress and I felt his presence and actions in the country made me feel vindicated for not just my family but for many who lost someone to senseless violence and murder at the hands of these gangs.
And who protects the gang leaders? Why won't he give these monsters to the US? Bukele refuses extradition why..
@@Rox888-vx3hv The US? Those who founded the gangs were all deported by the US. Why would he hand them back to the US? The US is run by gangster called Democrats!
@@Rox888-vx3hv Are you yourself on drugs? Why would Bukele give its criminals to the USA? Under what law would the USA claim them?
@@Rox888-vx3hv Because he knows the US won't do anything xD
Bukele doesn't like how the US handles things thats why lol
@@KyleandPrieteniCrook..MS leader bukele hid him from the US. Who has him now? Look it up
My mother in law is from El Salvador. Five years ago she told me I would never set foot in her home country, and we visited last year! I didn't feel unsafe at all - I'm so curious to see what it will be like in 10 years! If locking up gang members is wrong, I don't want to be right. It was great to see children walk to school, and my mother in law was thrilled to explain how different everything is.
Is she one of the 34% that knows someone that knows an innocent person.
I’m happy for u and ur mother!!! Forget all those who don’t agree with the crackdown. Enjoy feeling safe and drown out all other noise.
@@jakeg3126she’s probably part of the 95%+ that knows someone who was killed, raped, kidnapped etc. by those gangs.
Welcome to el Salvador
@@jakeg3126be quiet little Jake
While the employment of these tactics is a slippery slope that many across the world are ultimately right to be very concerned about, especially in cases of mistaken association/identity and human rights, anyone familiar with the sheer ruthlessness and savagery of the gangs of El Salvador and how said brutality has spread to other countries should know that no better approach exists than this. A solid chunk of these men (and sometimes women) are beyond rehabilitation, and relinquished their humanities long ago. Not a fan of the politics, but this crackdown is a necessary evil, for better or for worse.
The crazy part is Simon hinted at that with his statements on what the gangs were doing for "fun".
It should be easy to ID them. They are tattooed up the wazoo.
For him to be like "but human rights" after not even giving us the facts tells me his liberal ideology is really bad when it actually comes to safety for law abiding individuals at the cost to the criminals.
Criminals have zero moral qualms about killing people, but we as the civilized, should care about their human rights.
Problem is, once the gangs are taken care of you are left with a president with no accountability and a very well armed military and police that does whatever he says. In the long run I think this is the equivalent of burning your own house to escape the cold.
@@mukamasalike I said-a slippery slope. But I strongly believe for countries as violent as El Salvador and nations with similar levels of chaos, there is no alternative. Period. The Salvadoran people have had enough-even if that means risking everything else they hold dear down the line. I respect their commitment, even if I don't entirely agree with it
@@thebestcentaur a slippery slope is a risk of something worse happening. When you already have a dictatorship, that's not a slippery slope. It's an already unacceptable situation that is made to appear palatable by way of violent extortion. Take away the violence, the extortion remains, and now you have consented to it.
@@burbanpoison2494that clearly doesn't matter to the people of El Salvador-not for the time being at least. You read as much-they don't know what true democracy is, so forget about having lived in one. I learned years ago that thinking about one country from your own country's mindset is unwise-UNLESS the two are in similar situations. The people are willing to pay the hefty price for a seemingly better tomorrow for themselves and their loved ones. I say let them, if they feel it is what is needed
Man. You've got my sub. You clearly have opinions and make solid points but you're so careful and balanced explaining the situation with all the pros and cons.
Great video! However as Central American myself. Those who have never had a loved one or have being affected by a gang WILL NEVER undertand. That type of crime drives uncontrolled immigration in those countries and those who can't leave stay behind to suffer. These gang members do not deserve any sympathy, empathy or love. They lost it the moment they decided to become EXORTIONIST SERIAL KILLERS
Agree 100%! 👍
I've never experienced gang violence and I understand why el Salvador passed these policies. It's the crying bleeding heart liberals that always pretend to think that these are just misunderstood victims of society.
That's if you believe that 100% of people locked up are with gangs.
The "round them all up" strategy is problematic.
@MrNH718
They are. Hence, the historical drop in crime that took place basically overnight.
@@MrNH718 Not a concern. They all get their gang affiliation tattooed on their skin. If someone quits the gang, they die. If someone not a member gets a tattoo posing as a member, they die. Anyone with gang ink is an active member. It's a confession they wear on their body.
My wife is from El Salvador and moved here in 2014. We go back every year at least once and you can see the difference there in the last few years. They can say the government is fudging the numbers, but the change is obvious and tangible. You can’t argue with what you can see with your own eyes
Also worth noting, the crackdown on the gangs isn’t the only thing he’s doing for the country. He’s also improving the infrastructure. When we were there in December of last year, the sidewalks downtown were all opened up because they were improving the sewage and water system. All they talk about it the gang issue but there’s a lot of other stuff happening there unrelated to that, which could only happen with the gang removal.
Your experience as tourists is positive, I bet your family there is well off. Did you visit their clinics and schools? The newest, biggest infrastructure donated and built by China. A soccer Arena in the works by CHINA.. this government has not initiated nor built anything in ES
@@Rox888-vx3hvChinese infrastructure are low quality built especially prone to earthquakes. Japanese infrastructure are way better since they get very strong earthquakes.
Outcry wtf people around the world are upset. Biden is pissed he wants those criminals here.
@@Rox888-vx3hvwhy are you so afraid or imposed to what China is doing to help El Salvador? China is doing more good to the county than what the U.s. could have ever done.
@josueramirez8300 The Salvadoran vendors are being removed to give way to Chinese own business. Chinese are buying most of the prime locations and tourist areas. Salvadorans don't have the money to compete, and frankly, China's plan to remove Taiwan out of Central America is wrong. China is not there to help ES. Everyone knows they're building stadiums in every poor country, giving loans that can not be paid back. ES debt has tripled in the last 5 yrs, poverty has doubled. You tell me how has ES benefited from China?
As a Salvadorean and because I’ve seen all the misery and violence we had to endured for decades!
I will never let my Country go back!!
At last we live in peace at last we have justice!!
Bukele has my total support ✌️
From the USA, all the best to our brothers and sisters in El Salvador. You deserve the peace.
JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA NPC
I'm Canadian and wish you the best in 2024
@@Joedaniels007 I don't think hes an NPC bro... Anyone from Latin America who's lived there would support these results. If only others could do the same.... But for the first time, there is hope.
well, see the problem is, by giving up your voting power, and judicial branches of government to your mini-Maduro, you have no "say" or "choice" or "power" in not "letting" your country go back. You allowed yourself to be conned, by a dictator, into allowing him to consolidate power, and change your country from every having any hope of being a normal, peaceful democracy, by being tricked that this "band aid" solution, was a cure to your problems. Sadly, history has shown us that this has never ever worked in favor of the people, ever. And not manana, not en diez anos, but sometime in the next decade or so, you will regret giving away your freedom to this man. Its just a hard reality.
Let me ask you a question, how come in Mexico, common , regular people unite into vigilante militias, and wipe out the cartel in their pueblo, but you guys never do that? Why not fight for your freedom to live, against the pinches salvatruchas?
Greetings,
I was watching your video and felt the need to respond. As a Salvadorean who fled the country because of the interests and policies imposed by foreign governments, it is only now that I can feel some relief to be back in my country. Curiously, people who have no clue what it is to run for your life can't have an opinion on what President Bukele is doing or label him as a Dictator. I have lived in many countries, the USA including and find the views of politicians and sold-out media so biased. Probably in the comfort of their posh homes, they never faced the loss of a loved one just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or being harassed daily. I hope you can keep your objectivity, which is rare to find in the mainstream media, and one day you can visit El Salvador and walk freely anywhere, something you can’t do anymore in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro or Madrid. The freedom we have has cost more than 100 thousand lives, and we, the Salvadoreans in El Salvador and outside, are not going to allow any foreign country or NGO to come and tell us what is best for us. In Spanish, we have a saying, “Candil de la Calle, obscuridad de tu casa,” which means we cannot bring our lantern to the street if our house is in darkness and that goes for foreign intervention. What we have now is something we could only dream of before. We have to work as any other society in many other areas of our lives, but the fact that we can safely and come back home every night is something we are going to cherish and secure to continue and no foreign opinion is going to change what "THE PEOPLE' want. Respectfully.
ironically, now in El Salvador, you can be an innocent person, in the "wrong place and the wrong time" (which you say us americans never experience loss which is just retarded, but regardless) and you can be snatched up off the street by the police, taken to jail, and rot there till you die, without any recourse or ability to defend yourself, or even hire a lawyer. Do you not understand what you have done? You have simply traded one evil away for an even darker evil, that is just getting started.
The whole reason gangs in your country became what they are today in the first place, was BECAUSE your justice system lacked any protection for citizens, and the DEATH SQUADS of corrupt police and government agencies would snatch people yp off the streets, and make them disappear into the jungle, their bones never to be found. this is what you have allowed to happen, again.
Absolutely. This guy has never lived it, and is reporting on a very old prison/court system. And even worse, he's listening to things like the Washington Post. Let him go to somewhere like Somalia and get even a glimpse of what they were like.
I’m happy for you and your country
In a long post like this, it is best to use paragraphs and spacing. No-one reads books any more, so a
large block of words just makes the eyes glaze over.
This way you will get the upticks your excellent comment deserves.
I have another video I'm working on right now about how Bukele vigorously defends what he has done and accomplished. It's pretty good, I hope you get a chance to see it, and appreciate it.
I am a salvadorean and i can confirm the mobilization to stop the gangs was a complete success. The problem with the gangs was that innocent people suffered. The gangs were not against the state they just terrorized the neighborhood were they were in working as independent cells but all belonging to either 18 or MS. I don't support Bukele's authoritarian tendencies but i am surely grateful for the security his government has brought to my country after decades of neglect from "democratic" governments. Hope that people in other countries can truly witness the massive improvement in the country's security.
LOL
@ You do realize the guy is ridiculously popular over there, right? He also offered the EU to take in any one of the people swept up in these crackdowns that they thought were being mistreated. In Ecuador, there is massive popular demand to import Bukele's policies due to their own, even worse problems.
You are not making any sense bud. On the one hand you say that you don’t support Bukele's authoritarian tendencies but on the other you just told us how successful his policies are. Are you schizophrenic or just a bleeding heart liberal???
@@crowe6961do you know of any dictatorships that have ended well? It always ends badly because nothing is ever enough for a dictator, there is always more. More enemies, more traitors, more power, more looting…always more. Trading fear of the gangs for fear of the government, fear of illiterate cops who now feel the rush of their new found power over everyone else who isn’t a cop or soldier isn’t progress.
His authoritarian tendancies seems were necessary
Went there 6 months ago after 11 years. The place feels so safe, the people are amazing and the hospitality is just out of this world. I was able to walk around my family’s neighborhood at night feeling extremely safe. The government is investing heavily in tourism and education. Anybody that thinks this is a dictatorship has never left the safety of their western bubble.
It's a philosophical question, for sure. The safety comes at the cost of who-knows-how-many thousand innocent people being locked up with little/no trial. It's safe for everybody until you're caught up in it (and no one ever thinks they will be until they are). Personally, I think they're trying to hammer a nail with a grenade and it will blow up in their faces later, but I also haven't lived through the uncertainty and violence they've lived through, so I'm not one to tell anybody they're wrong for supporting it.
Even a benevolent dictator, is still a dictator. Bukele won't last forever, who ever replaces him will inherit this authoritarian system he has built, can you say for sure if you would trust the next President?
@@1blackice1 the future is always uncertain, and that goes to every single nation. Nobody cared about El Salvador during the reign of terror that the gangs caused, I bet that most people never even read or actually thought about that situation. It’s just so funny how the world only starts caring once the shit holes start to straighten themselves up.
@@PalmelaHanderson If you had lived there during those times you would see that the measures taken are the only way out. We are talking about criminals that would shoot an 8 year girl just so they can get back at the government for locking up their “homeboys”
@@D4mnHomieit is still a dictatorship, but not all dictatorships are inherently evil. This is one of those cases where a dictator is acting in the best interest of the general public.
People misunderstand the “nuance” of the gang problem. The creation and prevention of gangs is nuanced. The destruction of them is not.
One thing I hear from others is how skeptical of Bukeles economy. If that fails, well what would happen?
@@Jesus_Zendejaswe didnt elect him for his economic promises, thats all i have to say
@@Jesus_Zendejas I remember a quote, not sure by who. "It's better to be poor in freedom, than to have riches in slavery". ''. I can imagine the people of El Salvador feel as if they've got their freedom back after being held hostage by the gangs for decades, being able to go outside safely, being able to go to work safely, not having to worry your child won't return home, that is more important than anything else.
@@jonathansibrian695you did well in electing him. I can't speak on his economic skills, but I feel not having to give away 50% of your income to gangsters is an economic boom in itself
@@jonathansibrian695 you elected him to take your freedom and rights away. you voted in your last election. you didn't vote to eliminate gangs. you voted to make bukele the only legal gang. the bukele gang now has the monopoly on violence. well what can i say. this isn't new in latin america. soon all the street gangsters will be dead and bukele will need more slave labor, so now anyone who criticizes bukele can now be considered a gang member, because "bukele can do no wrong. if you think he's doing wrong, you must be the one who's wrong." See how quickly this can devolve into north korea? Oh yeah by the way, north korea has zero homicides. does that mean we should want to emulate their society?
it's easy to talk about human rights when you're sitting comfortably in your house, not having to worry if your son will catch a bullet for walking on the wrong street, or if your daughter will be kidnapped raped and ransomed, or if the gang will show up at your door threatening you for your money for groceries for the week. what Bukele has done for his country, for the Salvadorean people, is quite amazing.
No, Americans absolutely have to worry about that. This isn't a safe country. Not nearly as bad as what was happening in El Salvador but saying Americans don't also worry about that is asinine. Doesn't mean we go arrest anyone who feels nervous around cops or the government.
Exactly!!!
They don't deserve human rights for what they've done disgusting
@@Gdub33People who don't feel safe in the US in the way you described probably agree with OP as well. The comment was more about the virtue signaling morons who pat themselves on the shoulder for tweeting hashtags about an issue or the money grabbing politicians screaming about climate change while flying their private jets everywhere, in short... hypocrites.
I promise you this, 90% of gang violence is against other gangs or members. There is no scale to where gang violence even as a whole is ever worse than the suffering that a government can inflict.
My sister-in-law is from El Salvador. She and her family escaped 30 years ago. The stories she has told make horror stories seem like fairy tales. About 12 years ago, she visited her relatives in El Salvador, with her father and sister. She only felt safe phoning my brother and their children during the day, which was the middle of the night here in Australia. This was because if gang members heard her speaking English there was a strong chance they would kidnap her, r*** her, ransom her, and then probably still kill her even after they received the money. So, it is understandable why people of El Salvador have welcomed this new president.
Yes, but where just saying to be cautios, this is how dictatorships are made, now if you think dictatorships are good then by all its your belief but just know whats going up and own up to your own lies
@@gsst6389Ultimately they lived under tyranny before so it's an improvement
@@dioniscaraus6124 well if it worked for the galactic republic i guess the galactic empire ain’t so bad after all
@@gsst6389
Dictator has become such a buzzword nowadays
@@miliba dictators arent dictator to the people when they start, is when they end, and with buckele where just saying to be cautioues and wait for time will tell if he wont end up like maduro
My wife’s family is from el salvador, if you heard the stories of violence and brutality regular salvadorian had to go through, you’d throw “human rights” out the window.
especially since previous governments did fuck all.
I can totally see how the citizens would support Bukele. I would also put up with a lot to make sure my family was safe.
I am Salvadoreño and will say the most important factor is the loyalty of the troops and the devotion of the citizenry
Corrupt systems could never better a nation
You as a citizen also need to be loyal and respectful of your troops. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
@@tobystevens3109 troops can't be trusted it's an institutional gang. when we see Bukele out we will see how much was taken by the gang :)
We need a Bukele in Haïti 🇭🇹
As a honduran that has experienced about the same level of gang violence as people from our brother country el salvador. It was worth every godd*amn second
I’m currently in El Salvador spending Christmas with the family and I’ve gotta give much props to President Bukele. The streets are free of gangs. Tourism has picked up and I actually feel safer here than in my home streets of Los Angeles, CA. Now that’s saying a lot.
You just have a much more powerful and legitimate looking gang. It will be fine until they want to extort you, or make you do or think what they want.
Not happening.@@Triple_J.1
@@Triple_J.1Sounds like the government in california and in the united states under the disguise of “democracy “ when we are really an oligarchy lol How does that sound ? Just pull the mirror in front of yourself and come to the realization his actions worked ! I don’t believe in total absolute power kind of like an all democratic ran california but in dire situations in order to set “law and order” it’s takes a dictator to move with swift and fast immunity! I don’t think he’s a bad guy and if the people are happy and safer that’s all that matters ! There has been bloodshed for the last 30 + years and all you are worried about is the optics of how it looks based on your ideology and indoctrination of how you grew up ! Learn to be more stoic and look at things in context rather than basic pseudo intellectual taking points ! He put a fire out that has been burning for the last 30 years so don’t complain about the smoke that went into the air !!!!
its the lesser of the two evils
@@Triple_J.1
@@Triple_J.1keyword is until. Since that's not happening though you're just crying about nothing.
If it works, it works.
4 minutes in and you already pointed the exact reasons why Salvadorans don’t care what the international communities have to say about said measures. Because gang members are not humans and therefore they do not deserve human rights.
Unfortunately, they are humans, and this is what humans are capable of. That's why we need a rule of law and the means to back it up.
Well... its not like they have the highest IQ... so I can see why they would say that.
Soymon would rather the gangs run free murdering half the country cause he is a total brainless leftist shill.
The problem is when innocent people are declared gang members and imprisoned without a trial. I’m not from there but from my understanding this was a somewhat necessary step. The big thing is were it goes from hear
We went to El Salvador 🇸🇻 last year. It was a great trip. Didn’t see one gangster, not one. Felt safe and had a lot of fun.
Sweden should take note.
I am from Singapore. Believe it or not 40 to 50 years ago we had many gangs, but our late Supreme Leader changed all that. Now we are one of the safest country on the planet.
I visited every year for the 20 yrs and I never had any incidents either. What's the point?
@@freddiemercury2075 Singapore is great. Been there last year and felt safe even at night and as a woman. You can be so proud living in a safe, clean and quiet country.
@@nvh682 but there are downsides, for example it's considered the most expensive country in the world to live in. Also, the weather is pretty hot and humid too. Lastly, lots of people would agree that the Singapore government runs Singapore like a company.
Why do the media keep calling El Salvador's government a dictatorship? This Bukele dude won where liberal Western governments failed, Bukele is a hero in my book.
he is literally calling himself a dictator and circumnavigated the constitution to get reelected
Simple they want Latin America miserable more easy to control they government.
From my understanding he’s declared himself a dictator
@@Alligatortoofafter he got elected by a huge fucking margin. The public seriously loves him there more than any American politician at the least. Even after his dictatorship rules the majority have no problems with him. That might change if he becomes more dictator like but rn he doing good
Well, he is a dictator, but a good one.
I remember having a female classmate from El Salvador back in the 2nd grade in Ottawa, Canada. She almost always had a smile and seemed very happy to be living in Canada. I now can understand why. El Salvador is a frightening place.
Was a frightening place, ...hopefully.
WAS. Thanks Bukele.
The irony is that Canada is more dangerous today than when she moved here thanks to the incredibly lax criminal code lmao.
El Salvador was a dangerous place to visit or live .
You mean WAS a frightening place, now is the safest country in our hemisphere, thanks to Bukele
In a world of media outlets serving as echo chambers with tactfully hidden agendas, this video is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for presenting both arguments and allowing the viewer to decide. Maybe critical thought isn’t dead.
💯
? lol you see this video and think this is not part of an echo chamber. delusional
@@dariohenriquez7773for real this video acting like the damn gangs who terrorized El Salvador for a decade deserve a second chance. He also didn’t bring up how previous government was corrupt as fuck.
@@briangonzalez8514 Exactly. Those gangs were pretty sadistic and evil and the previous administrations in El Salvador were as useful as a feminist.
My step mother, who is from El Salvador, loves that the gangs are almost gone. She actually wants to go visit her home again. Something she told me she would never do.
i wasnt born in el salvador, but my family was. i have a friend who complains that el salvador is violating human rights. i said to him: “would you rather live in a country with strict laws but almost no murders or violence, or a country with loose laws, but with of gang murders and violence?”
he did not respond to the question.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'll take option 1 please.
@@HasturLaVishnu yee 👍
just came back from El Salvador this past weekend, military members were present @ all public locations and local police, not once did they bothered me, in fact it felt quite safe, graffiti was no where to be seen, the only thing that sucks is the traffic jams, but that’s nothing to the horrors local people experienced. My godparents and friends told me stories, the moment anyone opened some type of small business there would be someone asking for monthly/weekly collection/extortion. if the business sold food, they would take some of it to feed their members, if the business refused they would send someone an enforcer or kill the business owner or someone in their family. they would also demand for the children to join the gang or else they would kill them or kill a member of the family until they joined. Young girls often involved crimes of rape, murder, etc.. the MS would even collect from the very poor whom were asking for money in the streets, people in buses would be robed, if refuse they would shoot the bus and everyone in it. So when a president whom has done the impossible possible to incarcerate many gang members and associates (which had infiltrated the churches, police, judicial, military.etc) that during my stay I witness children leaving their bicycles in the street with no fear of those being stolen, because they believe they are now protected by someone whom really cares about them and their families it speaks volumes. When I served in the naval forces, had the chance to travel to several countries under a dictatorship, El Salvador does not resemble nor is close to one.
God bless you and I'm sorry for what you suffered
Thank you for taking the time to share your story. Liberals and their lawlessness needs to hear your story
These people criticizing this president are the same ones criticizing Isreal and the Gaza. It’s funny no other Country wants the Gaza Trash though !
And what about all the innocent people that he incarcerated at the same time while rounding up gang members without the right to a fair trial? Ok, so I'm sorry, but you do understand that when you were in the NAVY, that el Salvador was NOT A dictatorship, it was a democracy. The point is, that he took a bunch of rights away from the people like "the right to defend yourself if you are arrested but are innocent of the charges" and that El Salvador is going to BECOME a dicatatorship. you see Edwin? Now Edwin i know you are hispanic, but you aint one of those hispanic trump supporters are you? I just cant keep a straight face, Edwin, at the ridiculous naivity of your post. Its as if you have turned your back on the idea of democracy, while living in a country with all the benefits OF a democracy.
Edwin, would you be ok if Biden wrote an executive order which suspended the rights to a fair trial for Jan 6th insurrectionists, and then just rounded up anyone who was found to be sympathetic the coup attempt on social media along with Trump and his traitor gang that attacked the Capitol? Like would you be ok if the DOJ just locked up TRump because the MAJORTY of americans are convinced he is guilty of his crimes, just like the majority of El Salvadoreans are convinced that having secret police squads that do not answer to the law, is just fine to sweep up gang members and innocent bystanders alike?
And what about the next step? Since the police in el salvador are no longer answering to the supreme court or the people, they can literally just make people disappear without consequence. Thats what you think is good for the long term future of el salvador?
Like why didnt Bukake at least try Economic reform FIRST, like taking away the 2% that own ALL the coffee bean fertile land in El Salvador for hundreds of years; its been the same few families, why not break that up and give it back to the people ,so they can make a living exporting coffee beans which is the main export, and has been controlled by 2% of the population?
But the people are so used to being slaves without freedom, they allow themselves to be conned into thinking that taking away people's rights for any reason whatsoever is a "good solution" when history has PROVEN it NEVER works.
Trump supporters are just as ignorant about true freedom and liberty as these uneducated peasants are.
Yes. No American can fathom what it was like down before. Don't listen to these whining 'human rights' people, who did not worry about the human rights of normal citizens trying to live their lives in peace under the gangs. Where were they for all those years? Tell them to get lost. My ES family is so much happier, like being freed from jail themselves. Don't listen to anyone who did not live there before, they have no right of opinion on the matter. We support Bukele and plan to visit this year to finally enjoy the wonderful country and people.
@@strannick2212 Liberalism towards the police started because of unjust laws targeting poor black communities, leading to a gazillion convictions for low-level shit. Which led to attempted reform and Portland being a hellhole. And now we're back at square one again with a militarised police force.
Honestly, i hope that what's going on in El Salvador ends up working out in the long term
It won't. Even a fool can see that.
What happens when you pack 1/4 of a countries population into overcrowded detention camps? If you think that is a road to peace then I can't wait to look at you shocked face in 10 years.
I lived in El Salvador when all of this happened. Left the country and didn’t return till a week ago. My family was put at gun point because they couldn’t pay their money to the gangs. I use to get calls from my family for money. Not for them but for the gangs. Finally after 16 years I returned and it was a fresh of nice air and my family is so blessed to have the president they have
So why aren't you there now? You should go back. Your fatherland needs you and there are no excuses anymore.
@@tarstarkusz SMDH
@@JonathanKDeau Why are you shaking your head?
It is a man's duty to be in service to his country.
@@tarstarkuszfatherland though?
@@abc4781 Do you like "homeland" better? It's common for a people to refer to their area of the planet the motherland or fatherland.
As someone if Salvadoran decent my mother would talk about her love for our country but fear she felt in it. She fled to the US to escape all of the violence. Ever since bukele took over she has expressed excitement about wanting to return. I'm 24 now and the last time I was there I was 3. Me and my fiance talk about going to El Salvador to visit and it's such a beautiful thought to return
It’s very disingenuous to say that they are sacrificing human rights and civil liberties when they’ve never truly had these rights afforded to them to begin with. And it’s even more dishonest to say that people with “just a tattoo” are being arrested. Some of the acts they have to commit to earn those tattoos are definitely enough to have earned them a seat at the Nuremberg Trials after WW2.
I bet nobody in El Salvadors civil society has a tattoo now.
I see it in a simple way - the higher crime rate grows, the closer you're to chosing whether you prefer the right to vote and right to live, rights of criminals and rights of children.
Yea, Simon simps for gang members. 🤣
Yeah if you have certain tattoos, and aren’t a member of the gang those tattoos are affiliated with; boy oh boy, that person is going to be in for a world of hurt.
Impersonating a gang member when not apart of said gang, they don’t take kindly to that, not in the slightest.
Thats very true. Also... literally ZERO innocent people will copy the tattoos of one of these gangs as like a personal tattoo for fun. That kind of disrespect to the gang will get you murdered. Which means 100% of people with a distinct gang tattoo is a hardened member of a gang
Those who didn't live in Pre-current day El Salvadaor have no idea just how mind-grating awful it was to live there because of the gangs, particularly MS13. There are active warzones that were less terrible. This is a group who ruled the streets with an terror and an iron fist. If you don't 'respect' them (which can be anything on the day they arbitrarily decide), they'll kill you, your family, and your daughters/sisters/gf will be taken to experience even further atrocities. You cannot start a small business because the gangs will soon visit you demanding 'protection money', and if you don't or can't pay them, they'll destroy your business and/or kill you. They frequently travel around the streets and if you look at them the wrong way, a beating is your best case scenario. You call the cops? Guess what, those cops are either on the take and will report you to the gangs or they're not on the take but they're so helpless they can't do anything to help you.
You want your kids to be able to go out and play? They could get caught in the crossfire of gangs, they could be abducted or targeted by the gangs for recruitment, or if they're a pretty girl they could just get straight up abducted and trafficked.
There is more, but you get the point, and the people of El Salvador had to endure this for decades. I couldn't imagine going through it for a month, let alone *decades* .
If you wrap your head around this, you'll understand why the new Presidente has so much support from the public. All those out-of-touch Western academics and liberals who think the gangs just need jobs and government hand outs are like the naïve fools in movies who think they can reason with the serial killer.
BRAVO! Well said and 100% correct
Thank you. Good to hear from someone who experienced it firsthand rather than uber liberal academics that live in gated communities and debate social theories without ever having to experience the consequences of their "enlightened policies"
@@weirdshibainu Thank you, but just a correction that I didn't live there, but I did read extensively and watch many interviews of El Salvadorians on the situation, and some of what they said was hard to believe. The sheer savagery of the gangs is like something out of a history book on medieval battles, and it's a reminder that genuine evil exists in this world and it has no interest in 'rehabilitating' or being decent in society. Western liberals/academics have no idea what they're talking about when faced with such barbarity, and I think that they hate the current president of El Salvador because his actions prove all of their theories wrong. No, he says, you don't bargain and reason with evil, you defeat it.
Anybody that had to endure those years know that what we have in El Salvador today is the best it’s ever been and probably ever will.
That was a great comment rock on broski
I spent several days in El Salvador a few years ago. Absolutely beautiful country and people were so warm and friendly.
I always watch your videos excite it to see my country and president Bukele who has done an incredible job.
My wife is from el salvador. She hasn't been home in 17 years. We were finally able to go see her parents this year. Both our kids finally met their grandparents.
El Salvador is a beautiful country, and places like el cuco, paradise surf, affordable vacations spots I highly recommended. As long as it stays safe, we plan on going back every year.
Is that your wife in the profile pic? She looks African American not Salvadoran.
@@V.E.R.O.they come in all colors dumba$$ 😂.....save Some money and take a trip there someday.....
Salvadoran is a nationality, not an ethnicity. They're people of all sorts of races. @@V.E.R.O.
@@alexp.199 I'm Salvadoran, 90% of the population is mixed, the only black people I ever saw there were African diplomats or people from Honduras. Perhaps her parents moved there from Honduras. My point is she doesn't look like a typical Salvadoran.
@@V.E.R.O.afro Latinos exist my dude
Many call this man Alt Right and Authoritarian, but in my eyes he is the only person willing to do whatever it takes and a what is necessary to help the people. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Doesn't change the fact that he's a dictator and has effectively thrown away human rights. Even if he is successful, he has thrown away El Salvador's future. Stop 👢 licking.
Alt right is just what the globalists and far left call anyone who opposes the anarchy and social degradation they’re after.
Their end goal is literally to turn the entire world into a third world and make everyone second class citizens, all under the guise of moral superiority and virtuous, inclusive values.
The saddest part is that they don’t even realize they’re being played by their billionaire masters who just want to profit on others suffering.
we will simply have to wait and see if he has a brain and a spine attached to that strong arm
He's Fascist. Like Franco, he is doing anything to keep his countryman safe. Fascism is the only way to fix a broken country.
I am new right and I will condemn this man.
Freedom and truth is being killed live on television and honor is being toss down the river. Another tyrant in making selling humanity soul for quick fix will not solve the problem in a long run
Moreover, the question will remain… where will the gang recruitment pool go now because they sure as hell will not diassapear?
I was in San Salvador for a week in July 2019. At that time I was not aware of the political climate of that country, but knows that safety was a big issue. The first night our driver was driving us to dt San Salvador and while on our way back at around 11pm the tire went flat and the driver said we were not in a safe neighborhood. The driver made a phone call and not even 3 mins passed a Cargo Van came by and 5 army looking dudes came out to guard us while the driver changing the tire.
The driver told us after that these soldiers are deployed to patrol these neighborhoods and on call to protect foreigners when needed...
What is this you just did Simon? Is that real journalism I just witnessed. I forgot that existed. Thanks. This is the most balanced and unbiased true report I've seen about the truth in El Salvador I've seen. (coming from someone who got stabbed beaten and shot by this fellows who love tattoos)
It's genuinely hard for me to be concerned about human rights abuses happening to people who have been committing unspeakable crimes against humanity for decades.
The 90% have human rights that need to be respected too. And as law abiding citizens they should come first in the queue. Why should their rights be sacrificed to give rights to criminals. It is insane. So I would not worry about your lack of concern if I were you.
I'd help stop them if I could
@@Hereford1642
Humans rights of victims of the gangs who formed the majority of the country needed to be respected. I concur 90% of the population.
100% ANYONE saying otherwise is insane. FAFO
@MultiOpolis Doubt very much you know any real facts about this. I assume you are a leftist whatever. This comment sounds the same as "kids in cages" narrative. Yet with these same comments you have no problem with "gender affirming care" which is child mutilation and irreversible mental and physiological effects on children in your own country. Tell me I'm wrong, lie or gaslight again. Your playbook is played out.
My son's friend is from El Salvador, and his dad was forced into MS13. Obviously he escaped with his family at the first chance. I never have or will ask him about his time with them because as a fellow former gang member who has no business being in a gang I understand the things they may have asked him to do against his will and moral standing. Instead I commend him for his bravery to grab his young family and run away from, and at times past the worst gang of criminals we have ever seen.
It can be insane. I never joined a gang but I've driven guys around that nobody explicitly said anything but he was 100% using me to make his dealing mobile, and I made any potential cops ignore us.
Did he though?
He should still be accountable for his crimes don’t you think, or am I hearing that if you decide to get out then that’s good enough?
@@randomanon7040 Hater
@@arthas640cops ignored because they always work with gang members and now they do the same for the government. Military transport it and cops control the streets. Drugs will continue to reach the US.
"For having a tattoo" is a hell of a way to describe tattoos that you only have if you're murdered or raped someone and if you have the tattoo without having done so by the gangs you will yourself be on the receiving end of such. It's the type of tattoo that's an open confession.
Good thing I never got tattoos, not even small innocuous ones, if I ever want to visit El Salvador, lol.
usually you can tell who's a member of a gang by checking if their body is covered in tattoos, it works as a sort of marker
@@galatheumbreon6862 Indeed, you can even tell which they're a part of and what crimes they've done
Sounds similar to the black tear tattoo in the US which is worn by criminals who have killed police or law enforcement
do noot waste time. anglos and some europeans are beyond salvation. their knowledge comes from snowflakes that come to our countries and , being the world is not sunshine and rainbow as she think it is a given, she goes for the "victim". so they interview the mother of some mara, who, as you said, is more ink than skin. what do you expect? that mom will see it is justice to have his son in prison?. also, I ve spent a couple of seasons in guatemala (work), they do have some maras, but is not big in guate. heard from at least 5 people the fact that having those tattoes if you are not mara is to put a mark on your head. the moment they find out, you are dead.
Everyone if you disagree go to El Salvador to help, because it is quite easy to give an opinion when you are sat on your couch without worring for your life or job
Would you rather be oppressed by a dictator 200 miles away - or by 200 dictators living within a mile of you? Sometimes there are no good solutions.
Chill, this is just criticizing the bad things el salvador is doing, that previous dictatorships use to hold into power and rightfully so, if you wanna be a nazi sure go ahead just dont be shock when you get told your the bad guy
@@gsst6389"Oh my science, wanting to stopping heckin criminals makes you a literal nazi and a bad guy".
Poverty doubled, health and education at its lowest in decades.. false security can only go so far if you stay in power by threatening to bring back gangs if you don't vote for him
I don t think the dictator suppress them to be honest. Yes. You depend on one man, but if the guy is good for his country then it s not a problem at all.
The parallels between why El Salvador loves Bukele and why the Philippines voted for Duterte in 2016 are extremely closely related. People who haven't been in the gutter are always so quick to judge without realizing why populist leaders' straightforward solutions are so popular.
Bukele loves his country while Duterte loves money..
Because apparently they work. Extreme remedies for extreme evils, simple.
The violence has observibly stopped but has the poverty, the initial impetus for the gangs. He kept mentioning Canada's low crime rate but Canada has yet to have a country so economically divided. Not yet!
As a Salvadorean, I grew up there until 1996 when I was 11 y/o and experienced/witnessed alot and more of what you speak of in the video. I can tell you that today, the people in El Salvador will tell you that 1.- not only was the price they paid for all this worth it, but that they would pay it again and again if nessesary. And 2.- That how can Nayib Bukele be a dictator when the people elected him, and are the ones who asked him to rewrite the constitution so he could run again. We’re A-O-K with it.
Human rights groups need to stay the hell away because a lot of the problems in the past 30+ years were aided by their interference. They only protected the murdering rapists with tooth and nail but never once uttered a word for the parents having to bury their children or wives burying the husbands who were killed protecting their children from these monsters.
The way we see it today, human right groups are just as guilty as the monsters we have been saved from, and if allowed to have their way, HR groups would be more than happy to release these bastards immediatly. To say you work for a Human rights group in El Salvador today is to ask to be looked at with disdain and disgust and some will even refuse to admit it in public out of fear of being spat on by the near public.
Indeed - it's almost as if "human rights" advocates don't consider victims of gangs humans, incredibly. Only gang members. How warped.......advocating for the people who have willingly seared their own humanity with a branding iron.......
Spoken like a well payed employee of a dictador
@@Rox888-vx3hv From his actions, Nayib Bukele is not a true dictator yet. You are raging against any benevolent application of government power in extraordinary situations solely because you are conditioned that empty promises are better than actual results. Weak and impotent "democratic people" have been deceiving El Salvador for years with their promise of "utopian, clean and eventual solutions" for these people's problems. Nayib ENDED the problem in less days then the amount of years these "democratic advocates" were peddling their promises.
@@Rox888-vx3hvyes it was better living in fear of gangs or getting raped what is your angle anyway?
@@Rox888-vx3hv I get paid by an American airline but ok 😂 they do act like Ghadaffi sometimes, I give you that lol
Every country needs someone as Bukele 🫡
Only if they are as bad, proportionate response to the situation
I have friends from there and I tell you this when the President told those gang members they were never leaviing prison alive, we cheered.
I never thought I could ever go there and visit, but now it is safer than anywhere in America.
Note these issues weren't exactly "new" to El Salvador the issue with gang rule and retribution killings for not paying up goes back more than half a century. My brother-in-law is Salvadorian and his family lived in terror of deportation to El Salvador until the day they were made citizens as a deportation was equal to a death sentence if they were sent back to El Salvador; his step dad was actually deported back and was never heard from again after being processed at immigration. His step dad was an unwilling member of one of the gangs (essentially born into it and forced to work for the gang) and tried to flee with his family but because of his criminal history he was not granted immigration or refugee status like my brother-in-law and his currently pregnant mother. This would have been back in the early 90s.
Was your brother-in-law's mother pregnant in the early 90's or in 2023 ? I'm just asking this because the math doesn't exactly make sense.
@@ricardozetino6907 I'm thinking "pregnant at the time"...unless she's from one of those communities that think a woman who isn't pregnant isn't worth anything and must be giving birth for as long as they can (and start at a very early age) 😂. Like the Duggars...
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley Oh ok, thank you for the clarification.
@@ricardozetino6907 Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes, pregnant in the 90's when they immigrated. The fact my brother-in-law's brother (technically half brother but they don't make that distinction) was on the way was the reason his family decided to arrange for them to flee when they did instead of go the long due process route and hope they would get emergency refugee status.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley I don't know her too well. She is VERY traditional in terms of family values, generational homes, and religion... but she isn't delusional levels of traditionalist, so it was just my brother-in-law and his brother
I was born and raised in El Salvador, and must I say I love this video, this is the one and only true representation of the conflicts in the country that I have seen from a foreign channel. Absolutely everything said in this video is true, and has been majorly reported in the news or heavily debated between scholars in the country. Normally anytime I watch a video about my country it is either too stupid to believe the propaganda as absolute truth or only mention one specific issue while ignoring the rest. I genuinely admire this work and appreciate that you have brought this conversation alight, given that in ES there is no longer free speech as you will be targeted for speaking against the government, this is truly remarkable and I as well as many people from El Salvador thank you for this.
Can you elaborate on being targeted for speaking out against the government? My family has not complained of this and are extremely happy now. Only a few of their socialist neighbors still like the previous socialist regimes better, but they had jobs in the FMLN party and lost them.
Viva Bukele
Legendary man. I wish we had someone like him in Brazil!
I'll withhold comment on the situation in El Salvador and simply say thank you for these videos and the work you guys do. Your efforts in highlighting the nuance of so many deeply complex and culturally significant conflicts and geopolitical situations are sincerely appreciated, and a big part of why I watch this channel.
In today's overwhelmingly partisan, "black and white" media landscape, your dedication to presenting events in the most fact based, unbiased way you can, and to reminding your viewers that the world exists entirely in shades of grey, is noticed and appreciated. Thank you again for all your hard work, Warographics team!
His video is made with a dual purpose. For us that live in el salvador 🇸🇻 know the reality. The video is misleading because is mixing part of the truth and part that is fake. Either they do it intentionally or don't know better.
@@frankbenitez101 What is misleading about the video?
@semaj_5022 If i tell u, you won't believe it. If u really interested in this subject, I will suggest u do your own research.
Only the ones living here know the reality of what is happening. Many call it a miracle, but who am I to tell u that.
Research our president first, go back 10 years , research all his videos, and form ur own opinion.
@@frankbenitez101Intentionally. This channel is biased to the left pretty clearly, but it is a lot more reserved in its biased than some others.
Here in New Zealand we are experiencing a serious increase in crimes and gang activity. Our government for the last few years gives them nothing but a slap on the wrist and much of my generation is talking about how we need to continue to be kind and treat criminals with 'love and compassion'... It makes my eyes roll - see where that has gotten us. I would love to see the people who say these things spend a day in El Salvador pre Bukele.
nobody is saying that. Its the american right wing propaganda that you shamefully allow yourself to be conned by has got you "parroting" that. Unless you can link to me an example.
@@raidermaxx2324 A lot of people are, the fact you think its 100% fake news shows how biased you are. Canada catch and release Bill C-75, the 2015/2016 New Years sexual assaults in Germany, the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. There was a viral video in 2020 of 2 refugees stowing away in the storage case of a British car throwing away the family's belongings and they were caught and released by police. Just look at the entirety of San Francisco police don't do their jobs there because its politically inconvenient. Its not hard to find soft on crime practices all over the western world, and you're playing for one side so hard you're writing this guy's concerns off as propaganda. Delusional.
@@raidermaxx2324
Well look at sweden were I live its exactly like that. We are fortunatly changing direction now. The thing is yoy need to steer it correctly so it does not get so bad that it can become a dictatorship like el Salvador.
@@raidermaxx2324 The left has for a long time advocated for softer treatment for non-violent crimes, and in some cases even for violent crime. It's not propaganda - it's state policy. I myself am from Argentina and can confirm as much has happened here, with drug trafficking, smuggling and squatting becoming a major issue due to our left-leaning parties' unwillingness to actually punish criminals, even encouraging such behavior when it came to squatting.
Our newly elected president has promised a true crackdown on crime, and he's a man of his word. We'll see how well things go.
@findingmyway192:
Apparently the "soft on crime" approach to equity is a worldwide phenomenon, brought about and supported by the globalists who are pushing for the collapse of all sovereign countries. They have managed to flood our govts and legal institutions with radical individuals who support their vision of a new world order. I commend Bukele's hard nosed approach to crime. Hard times call for hard decisions and the rights of the many, the law-abiding, the innocent, should be protected above the few who choose crime and lawlessness. Our govts have turned against it's people and it's to stop them before it's too late. At least you got rid of Jacinda Ardern, we're still stuck with Biden. Bless you, NZ. We're all in this together. Stay strong, stay safe and keep the faith! 🇺🇸💟🙏🇳🇿
El Salvador NEEDED an unorthodox method to completely tackle the violence in their nation thats how bad it was and this is what worked
I can't argue with the results, I only hope that it continues to improve in El Salvador, but I am very much cautiously optimistic
Extreme measures rarely get positive results in the long term but as I said El Salvador was desperate and thats more than enough reason why to understand that they did what they did
Lets just hope the peace they have won for the moment continues
Once the economy grows and regular people have jobs and children get a good education, they can then relax their grip. South Korea's military rule was ruthless after the Korean war. Taiwan's military government after they retreated there in 1949 was equally ruthless. Singapore also managed to finish off the communists in the 60's. These countries have free elections but their people are all very aware of how easily things can go wrong.
@@DennistheMenace2011I agree and I really hope that is the outcome
I hope this goes the way S. Korea did in the 60s when the authoritarianism was finally relaxed
This isn't unorthodox. This is straight out of the dictators playbook. It's orthodox dictatorship.
@@kingace6186 I disagree, it remains to be seen if it will become a dictatorship South Korea had to undergo similar processes in the 1960s but they are better for it as a nation
I will be cautiously optimistic, but when the levels of violence gets that bad to what we can only imagine having been outside of the world of El Salvador you accept unorthodox methods to combat the brutal savagery of the gangs
The brutality of them is on par with that of the imperial Japanese government's actions in Nanking
@@rejvaik00 If you are interested, here are some videos from several years ago of how Singapore developed in the past 50 years.
th-cam.com/video/zlhM7BkZnOE/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=iSeaChannel
www.youtube.com/@martian9876
The leadership did what they had to do. They were pragmatic and played by their own rules in order to survive.
Im from Chicago; this guy sounds like someone we need here.
Can I vote for him this November??
Then dont vote for people being for mass immigration.
GodEmperor Himself > bukele
The censorship over discussing horrible details seems to fuel the whole problem with it. People can just live in assumptions
"As if wars or politics were some sort of football game". THIS!!!! THIS!!!! Thank you SO, SO much for your videos and for not dumbing down complex subjects.
I went through El Salvador in 2010 when I travelled overland from Mexico to Chile. It was grim and unpleasant. I met very nice people but felt bad for the lack of opportunity and constant fear of gangs. I'd arrive somewhere and would have to ask which areas the gangs controlled. It was basically everywhere.
I am very happy that the crisis is over, something had to be done.
I really hope they now take the opportunity to apply some due process to make sure those who were not involved in any wrongdoing are released. I think collateral damage is expected in crises this bad but now they can take the time to carefully remove the people who aren't part of the criminal world so there is justice as well as peace.
But overall, as sad as it is to see the lack of democracy, it's good to see that people don't live in fear of rape and murder anymore.
Don't worry buddy. Eventually your silly little brain will come to realize that democracy does not produce anything good at all. How many countries in this world have a democratically elected president? How many countries in this world are completely ruined by their democratically elected officers?
Answer: Pretty much all of them. Democracy is not the answer. It never was. Democracy is literally the same as a dictatorship. The 51% oppress the 49%. It is a tyrannical leader controlling a population.
Right? Do you get it? 51% vote biden, 49% vote trump. Yet Biden gets to be the leader and tyrannical oppressor. Right? So 51% of population is happy and 49% of population gets squashed. Is that what you think is a cool system? Just taking turns beating up the other 50% of your country?
Lack of democracy? I think is the opposite, now we have a real democracy because the people choose in free elections the course of the country by re electing the president and his policies.
I cannot blame anyone there for feeling lack of rights is a small price to pay. Unless you've lived through that fear each day, you have no right to say any different.
Mission accomplished, Simon. That was a well balanced and thought provoking piece.
The gangs in El Salvador have made it very easy for their Government to identify them. They literally tattoo a confession. The crimes initiates perpetrate to become a member are well known. They should be afforded the same ‘human rights’ and mercy they showed their victims.
I am an outsider, but sounds like he completely solved the problem. Good leader. Extreme issues demand extreme solutions
Did you not hear innocent people are being incarcerated?
@@gypsydildopunks7083 innocent? Most of them are associated with the gang in one way or another.
@@yin6287 Like if I could get arrested for paying protection money, or just looking too poor in the wrong area.
@@gypsydildopunks7083 Yeah, the video covers that - It's horrible, but prior to this crackdown it was worse. Unfortunately people are getting caught in the dragnet.
@@gypsydildopunks7083price worth paying.. Innocent people die all the time
Returning to this video for some reason. Simon thanks for working to keep this video balanced with the good of what's happening and the bad and controversial. It's certainly not easy for your team. But your work is important.
I just returned from El Salvador from a week-long trip and spoke to many of the locals about the life they are living under the new president and all I heard were great things. The country has turned around to become a place they are proud of and finally can make a living in peace. Since they started the war against the gangs and corrupt politicians, the locals are free to return to a life of normalcy, enjoying the nightlife, being able to travel the streets safely, commerce without fear of being extorted, and be free without fear of the gangs. As the country is heading towards a re-election year, I hope this new trend continues as with the direction it is going, it will have a prosperous future and is currently a great vacation destination.
1 week, go live there, then write a comment
@@Rox888-vx3hv He is not saying that's what he thinks. He is saying that's what people who lives there think. I have the same experience. I spent 10 days there and people would spontaneously tell you how much better it is and how much they like their current government. The people who live there, not me, not my opinion, their opinion.
@tornaperinso1484 I just returned after living there for 4 years. The general consensus differs, especially the families that don't have remesas supporting a lifestyle the majority can not afford.
@@Rox888-vx3hv The general consensus will be clearly reflected in the next elections.
@@tornaperinso1484 Definitely
I can picture the best and worst outcomes, but from an outsider who's mildly informed, I think the real threat is the next person to take his seat after he's done. Paradise can turn into a nightmare real quick with the right/wrong person in that much control.
I also feel like this guy's name is going to make it into a song like Cult of Personality 40 years from now.
Trust me. What Bukele is doing is nothing new. In fact, it's just the cycle repeating yet again in Latin America. Some charismatic far right guy comes onto the scene somehow having all the solutions to very complex problems. He pretends to solve some problems, pumps his record with state-owned media, and then consolidates all power. You're seeing in El Salvador not the elimination of gangs, but the consolidation of all violence and power into one gang, the Bukele gang. Make no mistake. Power corrupts. Bukele's true face will start to unravel in a few years. By then it will be too late for El Salvadorans.
You know what they say, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Throughout history many dictators started out with good intentions when they seized power, but most of them became what they fought against.
This is the typical pro-democracy cope. People would rather live in shitholes filled with violent crime than entertain the idea of letting one leader fix everything.
Here's the thing. Dictators rarely step down. Even ones that start out well meaning are usually forced to stay in power in order to keep their lives.
"Over the last year with this channel we've been been trying to inch away from the partisanship which seems to affecting so many outlets. The strange tendency to pick a side and then only report what your viewers want to hear, as if war and politics were some kind of a football game".
It's hard to put into words just how refreshing it is that this channel tries to step away from from blind partisanship in this day and age. Thankyou Simon and the Warographics crew for actually trying to inform us and help us truely understand, rather than simply trying to generate outrage in your audience for clicks.
They’re partisan. Despite what they claim.
Did you not watch the whole video? lol. They are definitely on one side.
Excellent analysis and incredibly balanced. Thank you
Human rights do not apply to criminals. They lost their rights when they committed their crimes
Exactly.
100% agree
So people who processing then are also criminals and so on ... Also there are is a huge percentage of innnocent people in jail, through the lack of human rights and because they lived in poorer areas.
@@christiang5209
Do you know this personally as a fact?
@@kwokleongawyong1064 The press there is very limited and controlled by the dictator, which also makes the surveys and data a bit suspicious ... But as said in the video, there where no trials people got arrested, without doing something on goodwill of the police, mist citizens know at least one innocent person who is arrested .... And yes gangs are often licated un lower class areas, but they arrested anyone slightly related to them your brother have a gang tattoo or a tatto where the police things is a gang tattoo(maybe even quited the gang before years) so you got arrested. You have struggle to run your vegetable Business without the gangs, you are likely get arrested becquse you pay then and maybe talk with then 3-4 sentences ...
You frrak out cause the police touch your daugther, you get arrested because it is a goodwill decision of the police - and the police there isnt all heros they are corrupt(ed).
My wife is from Ecuador and man you really nailed it with this video. You did a fantastic job of capturing her sentiments as well as the practical concerns. Earned a sub with this one.
If you’ve ever watched the raw footage of how these gangs establish and maintain control of a piece of turf, it’s easy to understand why no one care how they’re gotten rid of.
They could install a giant meatgrinder at these prisons, and sell inmates as dog food, and people would buy it.
I have a large dog. Please give me five pounds.
@@oldandintheway9805 you’ll have to wait. The friends and neighbors of the prisoners have already placed orders.
Thank you for your calm manner in speaking about this. I am tired of extremist videos, clickbaits going either far right or far left.
Democracy wasn’t healthy enough to combat the gang violence. A firm hand is needed to combat the gangs, no compromise. It is concerning that democracies are failing left and right around the world.
What we had back then wasn’t even democracy. The two parties were playing hot potato with the country and stealing as much money as they could. I wish westerners had given a shit back then as much as they do now.
That is doom mongering. Democracies only fail when pessimists like you give up on them.
Because voters are selfish and only care about their own property value first and foremost. Everything else around them can kick rocks for all they care. NIMBY’s are a far bigger cancer than corporate greed. The other issue is that over 90% of the time, voting leads to sociopaths and psychopaths getting elected. It’s just the nature of popularity contests. No way around that. Election by uncaring, unthinking lottery would yield a far better distribution of society’s members.
No government system has ever worked flawlessly. Every system ever has collapsed sooner or later. This is nothing new.
What people like you who only care about short term gain do not realize is that there is no such thing in el salvador as "combating gangs." It's actually just a transition of power from the gangs to Bukele's gang, who now runs the largest and only legal gang, and who has the monopoly on violence.
I'm from Usulutan, El Salvador. I watched your videos covering El Salvador in the past and I honestly didn't enjoy them that well because there is so much that needs to be covered and you've recognized that its a complex topic. I love this President. I used to really not care and thought Bukele was just like or at least will become into the thing we hate here. Corruption from the state was so normalized that the opposition is scared because come febuary FMLN and ARENA will no longer exist, no one supports them not even their financiers from the States. At this point I don't care if the PNC detain me for a stupid reason, and I don't care If the Regime of exception imprisons me. I know all of you will read this and say I'm foolish. But if you aren't guanaco you can never comprehend what its like watching kids today just being kids playing the park, and walking around with airpods at night in your neighborhood. I love what happened and I support the PNC, FGR, and the army and their operation in the control of the territory. He isn't the president for the next 6 months because the Reelection is being done by the books, the opposition has tried that in the past the only reason they are upset about it now is because its not them in power anymore the republic has spoken.
Good luck in your fight against the gangs, it sounds like you've almost achieved victory.
May God bless you Salvadorians. I hope peace continues to reign in your country.
I suppose the risk of being erroneously locked up while living in a peaceful country probably doesn't seem that bad when the alternative is the possibility of being murdered (or worse) in a country likened to a war zone. And I don't think any of us who haven't had to make that choice have the right to tell you it's the wrong one, either way.
What are you prepared to do when the gangs inevitably turn these prisons into fortresses full of new recruits to add as soldiers? Do you El Salvador is immune to Brazil’s problems?
@@Ellie-rx3jtMy friend lived in Darfur growing up and had to leave as a result of genocide. Does it take a genocide expert or a person who went through it themselves to say that violations of human rights are inherently immoral?
This is about the coolest thing I've seen in a while!
Bukele is a miracle for El Salvador from the most dangerous country in the world to the safest country in America it was worse than Afghanistan in war.
Bukele really said “fuck around and find out”
TOUGH DECISIONS= REQUIRED=IN VICIOUS TIMES.
Your channels and videos are great. It's so refreshing to listen to someone just report news of what's going on instead of preaching or pushing a political agenda. We need more non-partisan news
My mom survived the war and moved over here with her siblings and my grandma and grandpa I’m so proud of them, it must of bin crazy and hard to leave but at the same time they had to choice I always remember that she lives thru a war and it always reminds me how strong she is. I love you mom ❤️
Thank you for a nuanced, objective piece. I wish more journalism was like this.
Not really. It's filled with half of the truth and the other part fake. Probably done on purpose.
As a natural born American citizen that owns land in El Salvador, I can say that Bukele brought security and prosperity to El Salvador.
Average Americans underestimate how highly organized and heartless the gangs were. They would kidnap little girls and homes just for fun.
Bukele addressed a broken system in which repeat offenders kept their communities in terror and the cops had their hands tied (sound familiar?)
Also keep in mind that their Congress was voted in just like he was. The ones crying are mostly the lefties that made treaties with the gangs/ or fled the country after stealing money.
BTW, Mr Martinez and El Faro are an activist organization. The guy even said that gangs have their place in society.
There is construction and businesses opening up everywhere in El Salvador.
Only time will tell the final outcome, but whose crying contributed to the problem and never offered a real solution.
Do your homework for yourselves folks. And I would also encourage Americans to see it for themselves. :)
I've lived in western Europe all my life and yeah there are problems, but I've never exeprienced even 1% of what salvadorian endured those last years, so I just refuse to blame them nor would I dare talk to them about human rights or so. Good for them. This Bukele seems to be handling things well and should pursue.
Human rights isn't optional.
were was human rights when salvadorian citizen were slaugthered everyday by gang members ? @@kingace6186
@@kingace6186 Shame the gangs took away the civilian's basic human rights. In such an extreme situation, I do not blame them for handling it the way they did.
In the long run, I hope they turn back to democracy like Taiwan and South Korea did.
@@kingace6186 tell that to these gangs. Give them a hug if you'd like. I'd highly encourage you.
Thank you for actually being respectful to us about this situation. We have struggled for a long time without anyone noticing and now all some people have to say is how wrong we are to lock these monsters up.
Superb, non biased Journalism. Always loved your work. This is one of your best work